Enhancing Technical Efficiency and Economic Welfare: A Case Study of Smallholder Potato Farming in the Western Highlands of Guatemala

Q2 Social Sciences Economia Agro-Alimentare Pub Date : 2022-06-01 DOI:10.3280/ecag2022oa13227

R. Widanage, Catherine Chan, Y. Tsang, B. Sipes, H. Melakeberhan, A. Sánchez-Pérez, Alfredo Mejía-Coroy

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Smallholder farmers in the Western Highlands of Guatemala grow potatoes for subsistence and as a cash crop but their current productivity is 29% lower than the world average. The objective of this study is to provide policy recommendations for improving potato productivity through enhancing technical efficiency in smallholder potato farming in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. In doing so, this study examines the determinants of potato productivity and identifies the sources of technical inefficiency in smallholder potato farming. In addition, the study evaluates the economic welfare impact of potato farm operations and provides policy recommendations for increasing smallholder potato productivity through enhancing technical efficiency. Stochastic production frontier analysis showed that on average farmers are at 57% efficiency. Hence, there is a considerable room for improving efficiency in potato farming. The sources of inefficiency of the farmers were determined to be caused by higher elevation, smaller farm size, and location of the farms. Welfare gains from reaching potential efficiency is US$ 8.79 million in terms of producer surplus per year in Guatemala. Hence, this study provides valuable information for policy makers and farmers for improving technical efficiency and producer surplus. Likewise, providing better conservation practices by extension will ameliorate the low productivity associated with higher elevation and locations that are lower in technical efficiency.

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提高技术效率和经济福利:以危地马拉西部高地小农马铃薯种植为例

危地马拉西部高地的小农种植土豆以维持生计，并将其作为经济作物，但他们目前的生产力比世界平均水平低29%。本研究的目的是通过提高危地马拉西部高地小农马铃薯种植的技术效率，为提高马铃薯产量提供政策建议。在此过程中，本研究考察了马铃薯生产力的决定因素，并确定了小农马铃薯种植技术效率低下的根源。此外，本研究还评估了马铃薯农场经营对经济福利的影响，并提出了通过提高技术效率来提高小农马铃薯生产力的政策建议。随机生产前沿分析表明，农民的平均效率为57%。因此，马铃薯种植效率的提高还有很大的空间。农民效率低下的根源被确定为高海拔、小农场规模和农场位置造成的。在危地马拉，达到潜在效率所带来的福利收益按每年生产者剩余计算为879万美元。因此，本研究为决策者和农民提高技术效率和生产者剩余提供了有价值的信息。同样，通过推广提供更好的保护措施将改善与高海拔和技术效率较低的地点有关的低生产力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Economia Agro-Alimentare Social Sciences-Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

CiteScore

1.40

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

30 weeks

期刊介绍： Economia agro-alimentare/Food Economy is a triannual peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Franco Angeli Edizioni on behalf of the Italian Society of Agri-food Economics (SIEA), founded in 1996 by the then President of SIEA Fausto Cantarelli. It offers an international forum for the discussion and analysis of mono and interdisciplinary socio-economic, political, legal and technical issues, related to agricultural and food systems. It welcomes submissions of original papers focusing on agriculture, food, natural resources, safety, nutrition and health, including all processes and infrastructure involved in providing food to populations; as well as the processes, inputs and outputs involved in consumption and disposal of food and food-related items. Analyses also include social, political, economic and environmental contexts and human resource challenges. Submissions should be addressed to an international audience of researchers, practitioners, and policy makers, and they may consider local, national, or global scales.