Effect of Sustainable Cultivation Operations on the Technical Efficiency of Rainfed Wheat Production in Saqqez County

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

University of Tabriz

Abstract

Background & Objective: In order to achieve self-sufficiency and sustainability of agriculture, one of the important tools in evaluating the performance of agricultural systems is using of efficiency index. In this case, an agricultural production system will be economically more sustainable when the efficiency and total factor productivity of that system is higher than the other systems. Therefore, in the process of development, improving the efficiency of farms has become a necessity. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of sustainable agricultural practices on the technical efficiency of rainfed wheat production in Saqqez County.
 
Materials and Methods: In order to achieve the aim of the study, the stochastic frontier approach was used. To measure efficiency and achieve the goal of the research, the likelihood ratio test was used to identify the priority of Cobb - Douglas or translog production function and finally translog production function was selected as the appropriate function. In this function, the quantity of rainfed wheat production as dependent variable and factors of machinery, seed, labor, fertilizer and poison were considered as independent variables.   By determining the technical efficiency of the farms, the effects of sustainable agricultural operations on the efficiency was evaluated by estimating the Tobit regression model. The required data were collected by completing questionnaire from 271 wheat farmers of Saqqez county.
 
Results: The results showed that the mean of wheat farmers technical efficiencies is 62.20%. Thus, farmers can increase the production level about 38% with the same quantity of inputs. Based on the results, the factors of age, education, of cultivated area and the components of sustainable agriculture, including crop rotation, conservation plowing, leaving straw and stubble and fallow, showed a significant effect on technical efficiency.
 
Conclusion: The average production efficiency of wheat farmers indicates that there is a suitable condition for increasing production and reducing the use of detrimental inputs such as fertilizers and chemical pesticides to achieve sustainable agriculture. Considering the positive effect of education and the cultivation area and agricultural components, more communication with farmers who are more literate and have larger farms, as well as observing the principles of sustainable agriculture can help improve the efficiency and factor productivity.
 
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Agricultural Science and Sustainable Production
Volume 35, Issue 2
July 2025
Pages 367-379

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