Determination of Economic Efficiency of Agricultural Cooperatives in Fars Province

The purpose of this study is determining the economic efficiency of agricultural production cooperatives and factors affecting it and their profits. The data were collected using multiple random sampling methods. The estimation results of profit function in Fasa, Firouzabad, Marvdasht and Eghleed cooperatives showed that amount of primary and existing capital and cost of total activities of agricultural production cooperatives have direct relationships with their corresponding frontier profit. As the results of economical efficiency distribution of these agricultural production cooperatives showed that average of economical efficiency score is 0.71 with a relatively high range (between efficient and inefficient of agricultural production cooperatives). Therefore there is a possibility to raise their profits through transferring managerial factors of high efficiency agricultural production cooperatives to those with low efficiency. As the results showed that managing director level of education, number of activities of agricultural production cooperatives (activities diversity), distance of agricultural production cooperatives from downtown and agricultural production cooperatives located in Firouzabad relative to other mentioned agricultural production cooperatives had direct relationship with economical efficiency of agricultural production cooperatives and the kind of governmental management of agricultural production cooperatives relative to independent management and activity period of agricultural production cooperatives and the agricultural production cooperative located in Fasa city relative to Eghleed and Marvdasht and the agricultural production cooperatives located in Eghleed city relative to Marvdasht city had indirect relationship with economical efficiency of agricultural production cooperatives in Fars province.