Technical efficiency analysis of mango production in Central Myanmar.
Mar S., Yabe M., Ogata K.
Author Affiliation: Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
Journal of ISSAAS (International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences) 19 : 49-62
Abstract : To assess the mango production in central Myanmar, we surveyed the 151 mango growers in Mandalay and Sagaing Regions in 2011. This paper empirically analyzed the technical efficiency of mango farmers in central Myanmar using a Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function and the important factors in technical efficiency were identified by applying a two-limit Tobit model. In this paper, field survey data obtained from a sample of 151 mango growers in Mandalay and Sagaing Regions in central Myanmar were used. The analysis revealed that technical efficiency levels ranged from 27 to 86% with a mean level of 71%, implying that there is still scope for improvements in the technical efficiency of mango farmers. The results indicated that the most important factors having positive impacts on the yield of mango farms were intensive labor and pesticides, while fertilizer and machinery use had negative effects on output. The major contributing factor in the level of technical efficiency was the experience of the farmers, which is positively significant, while the age of the farmers and the main cultivation variety Sein Ta Lone had a negatively significant effect on technical efficiency.