Measurement of productive efficiency of tomato growers in Peshawar, Pakistan

Abstract

The present paper estimates the technical, allocative and economic efficiency of tomato growers. The study was conducted in two villages, namely, Tarnab and Akbarpura of the District Peshawar, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. The data were collected by conducting a farm level survey of 300 tomato growers in the study area. The findings show that there was a big gap between the maximum and minimum technical efficiency indices, with an average technical efficiency index of 66%. There was also a huge gap between the highest and the lowest index of allocative efficiency of tomato growers. Economic efficiency indices also varied significantly. The study concluded that the farmer education, extension visits, age and access to credit were the significant determinants of these efficiencies. One of the most important policy implications of this study is that there is enough potential to increase the present level of efficiencies for tomato production in the study area.

Keywords

• equity and efficiency
• economics
• developing countries
• economic change
• economic development