Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Stochastic frontier approach to measure technical efficiency of two irrigation systems in Gilgit district, Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan

Author(s):

Arif Alam ^1*, Hajime Kobayashi ², Toshinobu Matsuda ², Akira Ishida ³, Ichizen Matsumura ², Mohamed Esham ⁴

Recieved Date: 2011-09-09, Accepted Date: 2012-01-11

Abstract:

The economy of Pakistan is predominantly agrarian, and optimum utilization of water resources is of paramount importance. Poor production and inefficiency of the farmers are among the main causes of food problem. Searching for appropriate ways to increase productivity and efficiency are important for individual household welfare as well as for country economy. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the productive performance of the improved irrigation channels made from cement concrete as well as stones and traditional channels made from mud and stones of irrigation systems using a stochastic frontier production (SFP) technique involving a model for technical inefficiency effects. A total of 77 farmers were selected by using systematic random technique from two villages, Sultanabad and Parri, from the Gilgit district of Pakistan. Household heads were interviewed through semi-structured questionnaire to collect overall data on farming systems. SFP function was used to estimate the effect of different variables on the crops technical efficiency (TE). Results show significantly positive effect of improved irrigation system (IIS) for wheat and vegetable crops on the TE of the crop producing farms. A high degree of technical inefficiency in wheat and vegetables farming for the traditional irrigation system (TIS) has been reported, which is due to factors under farms control. It has been argued that wheat and vegetables cultivating farms in the TIS can increase production by 28% and 18%, respectively, via upgrading the TIS to the IIS with irrigation development. However, farmers operating under IIS are more efficient as compared to TIS. Hence, improving productivity requires introduction of a new technology.

Keywords:

Stochastic frontier function, Irrigation system, technical efficiency, Gilgit-Pakistan

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2012
Volume: 10
Issue: 1
Category: Agriculture
Pages: 543-550

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