Evaluating Provincial Inequalities in Agricultural Productivity of Iran and Introducing a Real Reference for Inefficient Provinces Using Data Envelopment Analysis with Non-Convex Frontier Approach

Abstract

Identifying various aspects of the inequality among provinces is the first process in creating a regional balancing program through which regional development goals would be obtained by untilization of limited production resources. The imbalance in agricultural development process has caused an expanding gap of productivity level among all provinces. This paper tries to develop and demonstrate a combined set of models (Mamlquist Index using Data Envelopment Analysis with non-convex frontier) to get regional development decision processes by introducing only one real province as the reference province. The main objective of the present paper is to measure and describe barley productivity and regional trend and inequality in Iran to optimize and utilize resources in agricultural development plan. So based on research goals we formulated agricultural productivity indexes and data was collected from the statistics and information, affiliated to the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad during two perieds. Research method is nonparametric with Mamlquist Index based on Data Envelopment Analysis to analyze regional differences total factor productivity growth rate and its elements among province. The result revealed that, there is an enormous inequality among provinces. Although less developed province indicated better performance than developed provinces in this regard. Howeer, to decrease the inequality among the provinces as a whole we need to have a real change in agricultural policies in the distribution of agricultural facilities such as machinery equipment land and resources as well as agricultural infrastr nature (Water Energy; transportation etc…).