Technical Efficiency of Rice Farms under Irrigated Conditions in Central Gujarat

The present investigation undertaken in the central Gujarat, has estimated the technical efficiency in rice production and has assessed the effect of farm-specific socio-economic factors on this technical efficiency. A stochastic frontier production function has been estimated to determine technical efficiency of individual farms and variance as well as regression analyses have been carried out to find the influence of socioeconomic factors. The study has revealed that the farm-specific technical efficiencies range from 71.39 per cent to 99.82 per cent, with the mean of 72.78 per cent, which indicates that on average, the realized output can be raised by 27 per cent in the region with the available technology and resources, without any additional resources. It has been found that factors like operational area, experience, education and distance of field from canal structure are the most influential determinants of technical efficiency, while the variable, number of working family members, has shown significant but negative relationship with technical efficiency. By adopting good management practices and proper allocation of the existing resources and technology, along with sound extension programmes, the potential that exists for improving the productivity of rice in the state, could be exploited