جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "کارایی فنی" در نشریات گروه "کشاورزی"

Seed is one of the most important agricultural inputs, which plays a key role in achieving optimal yield and quality of the product. Ever since mankind realized the role of the suitable seed in economic profit and food security, it has always made breeding efforts to provide cultivars with desired genetic characteristics. For the maximum effectiveness of other production inputs such as water, fertilizer and pesticides, access and use of new high-yielding and compatible cultivars is a necessity. In the present study, using the metafrontier frontier function, the technological gap ratio of certified seed of Hashemi rice variety was analyzed. The information of 531 farmers was used for the research. This information was obtained in 2018 using the cluster sampling method according to the size of the population. In this study, data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was used to estimate the technical efficiency relative to the group frontier, and the metafrontier method was used to estimate the technological gap ratio (TGR). The results of the frontier production function estimation showed that the technical efficiency for farmers who used certified seeds is 0.88 and for farmers who did not use certified seeds is 0.82. It means that these producers with a certain amount of inputs averagely produce about 88 percent and 82 percent of product respectively, which using the available input and the type of seed could be produced. The technical efficiency compared to the metafrontier production function was 0.82 in the group that used the certified seeds and 0.72 in the group that did not use this type of seed. The technological gap ratio for the above two groups was 0.93 and 0.86 respectively. In other words, farmers who used certified seeds had better technical performance and had a higher technological gap ratio. This is a promising point for policymakers in the agricultural sector that by promoting the use of certified seeds and taking necessary measures to encourage farmers to use this type of seed, the level of production can be improved.

The purpose of this study is to estimate the environmental and technical efficiency of grape production in Bijar County. In this research, stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) method used to estimate input-oriented technical and environmental efficiency. Chemical fertilizer, pesticides and sulfur inputs were considered as environmentally detrimental inputs for estimating environmental efficiency. data were collected from 170 grape orchards at year 2018. The average technical efficiency (70%), shows that orchards under consideration can increase their efficiency up to 30%. The minimum and maximum technical efficiencies were 26% and 93%, respectively, which indicates a large gap (67%) between the efficiencies. While the average environmental efficiency is 92%, the lowest and highest efficiencies are 49% and 99%, respectively. Based on the results, it is possible to increase environmental efficiency on average by 8%. Due to the high average environmental efficiency of this grape orchards, it is concluded that environmental impacts of detrimental inputs were considered when using fertilizers and pesticides. So, encouraging these grape producers and introducing them to other producers can play a positive role in sustainable development in this county.

Honey is a healthy, nutritious and natural food that contains minerals, enzymes, and vitamins that give a person nutritious and organoleptic properties. It is produced on all five continents and its consumption varies from country to country due to cultural reasons and eating habits (FAO, 2022). Honey production in the world has increased from 771,114 tons in 1971 to 1,770,119 tons in 2020, with an annual growth rate of 1.84 percent (Knoema, 2022). Honey plays an effective role in ensuring global food security, and its market structure is dictated by its production efficiency. Given the limited resources of the agricultural sector, the optimal use of natural resources by improving technological efficiency in honey production would help ensure sufficient food for the increasingly growing world population (kavand et all., 2014; Hosseinzad & Koopahi, 1999). One of the factors affecting the efficiency of honey production is competitive and efficient markets. Therefore, the main objective of the present study is to determine the structure of the honey market in the provinces that produce this product and its relation to the technical efficiency of the producers.

This study uses the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI) to study the market structure of honey-producing provinces in Iran. The Herfindahl-Hirschman index is calculated by squaring the market share of each competing production unit in the industry and then summing the resulting numbers. For this purpose, two different scenarios are considered. In the first scenario, the HHI was calculated based on the share of production of the counties and in the second scenario, it was calculated based on the number of apiaries in each county. To estimate the technical efficiency, the stochastic frontier Cobb-Douglas production function was used. For this purpose, first, the HHI values were considered as inefficient function variables and then the inefficiency function along with the Cobb-Douglas frontier function using maximum likelihood method was estimated and the technical efficiency values of the provinces were calculated. The data used in this study for 2019-20 have been obtained from the results of the census of Iranian apiaries. Excel2013 software was used to calculate Herfindahl-Hirschman index values and Stata15 software was used to estimate the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function.

Our findings show that the mean value of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index based on the first scenario in 2019 is 0.23 and in 2020 is 0.24. Therefore, Iran’s honey market during the studied years turns out to be monopolistic competition. The mean value of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index according to the second scenario for 2019 and 2020 was calculated as 0.16 and 0.17, respectively, which indicates that the country's honey market was competitive during the years under review. According to the results of Cobb-Douglas Stochastic frontier production function, inputs including; apiary, labor and hive have a positive and significant impact on honey production. The average efficiency during 2019-20 according to the first scenario is 61.2% and according to the second scenario is 64.2%. According to the first and second scenarios, it is possible to increase the efficiency by 38.8% and 35.5%, respectively. The results of the inefficiency function also confirmed that increasing the value of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (i.e. increasing the degree of monopoly and distance from the competitive market) has a positive effect on inefficiency (negative effect on efficiency).

In conclusion, the results indicated that Iran’s honey market in recently years was has changed to monopolistic situation. This event has caused to decrease the efficiency of apiaries. So it can be possible to increase the efficiency of apiaries through stablishing competitive structure in honey market. In this case motivating for investment in modern production technologies and related industries can help to competitive circumstances in the honey market. market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency market structure and technical efficiency

Analyzing technical efficiency is particularly important in any economic sector, including the livestock industry and broiler production. By analyzing the efficiency of units, it is possible to help improve the use of resources and increase domestic production. Given the special importance of the livestock and broiler production industry in the country, it is necessary to analyzing technical efficiency and optimizing production in this area. Especially in Kurdistan province, which is one of the most important regions of broiler production in the country (3.8% of production in 2020), analyzing the efficiency and optimization of Arian race broiler production can be one of the solutions to increase domestic production and improve the country's economy. The current study aimed to assess the technical efficiency and identify the key determinants affecting the production of Arian broiler chicken in Kurdistan province using a parametric approach known as the Stochastic Frontier production function (SFP) method. 

The level of technical inefficiency within the studied units was estimated by applying the functional form of Translog and employing the maximum likelihood method. A proportional sampling technique was employed to select a sample of 21 broiler farms for the study. The selection of farms was based on a proportionate representation of the target population. Subsequently, comprehensive input-output data were collected through the administration of a structured questionnaire in the year 2021.This function has been estimated using the Ttranslog function form and with the help of the maximum likelihood method, and units have been investigated the main factors explaining the level of technical inefficiency of the studied. A proportional sampling method was used to select 21 broiler farms, and input-output data were collected by completing a questionnaire in 2021.

In this study, using the translog function, has been investigated the relationship between different variables and technical efficiency in the production of Arian broiler in Kurdistan province. The results showed that feed consumption, the number of hatchlings and the cost of medicine and health were important variables that had a direct and significant effect on the amount of meat production. In addition, the estimated technical efficiency at the farm level ranged from 43% to 90% with an average of 75%. This result indicates that the poultry farms of Kurdistan province have relatively high technical efficiency. Also, the evaluation of the factors related to inefficiency showed that among the seven investigated factors, the variables of age, experience of the poultry owner and the labor force, the length of the breeding period and the degree of mechanization of the units had a negative and significant effect on the inefficiency. The age and experience of the poultry owner, there were two of the most important influencing factors that were observed in this research.

Considering the importance of broiler feed in increasing efficiency and its high share of variable costs, measures to stabilize its price are essential. To do this, contract farming may help broiler farmers to reduce price fluctuations in the feed market. Additionally, in case of shortage, the government can intervene and regulate the feed market. Also, considering that the age and experience of the poultry owner are two important factors on production efficiency, designing appropriate training programs for them can help improve their experience and skills in broiler production.

Extension and education of farmers in the innovative use of production resources plays an important role in the optimal use of resources. The main purpose of this study was to compare the technical efficiency of wheat production between the provinces implementing the new agricultural extension system and other provinces in Iran. The required data were obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture's website for the period of 2015-2019 and their analysis was performed using data envelopment analysis method. The results showed that the mean of input-oriented technical efficiency under constant and variable efficiency in the provinces implementing the new agricultural extension system was 0.59 and 0.75 and in other provinces was 0.56 and 0.72, respectively. Also, the amount of technical efficiency under constant and variable efficiency in the provinces implementing the new agricultural extension system is 0.58 and 0.66 and in other provinces was 0.55 and 0.62, respectively. Since the technical efficiency of input-oriented in two group of provinces has been statistically different, it can be said that the implementation of the new promotion system has reduced the consumption of wheat production inputs. Considering the success of the implementation of the new extension system, it is recommended that the government pay attention to the implementation of this system in all provinces and not unilateral support for a limited number of specific provinces.

Among agricultural activities, aquaculture has shown the highest growth among food production sources in the last two decades. According to the F.A.O., aquaculture is the best supply of the maximum motivation for poverty alleviation. Uncertainty and risk in the aquaculture subsector, like other agricultural subsectors, are formed due to unfavorable weather conditions, the prevalence of diseases, and price fluctuations. Naturally, due to uncontrollable factors and risks, the efficiency of production units is expected to decline. Identifying sources of these risk in aquaculture activities is one of the key points for risk management. It is clear that risk can never be eliminated, but it can be managed by identification. Zanjan province is one of the major fish farming regions of the country and among them is the city of Mahneshan which accounts for about 65% of the total fish production of this province.

The purpose of this study is to the identification of risk management tools in fish farms and their effect on the technical efficiency of these farms in Mahneshan county. To this end, the stochastic frontier production function was applied and the required data were collected by surveying a questionnaire by stratified proportional random sampling from salmon farms in three-zone including Central, Angoran, and Oryad in Mahneshan county in 2020. In general, risk management strategies in the agriculture sector were divided into two categories: in-farm risk management strategy and off-farm risk management strategy. These two categories are classified into 8 risk management tools and then measured by the Likert spectrum. The Cobb-Douglas functional form was selected to estimate the stochastic frontier production function.

The results showed that among the in-farm risk management strategies, the selection technology with less risk tool is the most popular and the tool of the financing method is very common in the off-farm risk management strategies. In address to the comparison between In-farm and Off-farm’s risk management strategies, the fish farmers are more likely to use in-farm risk management strategies. The estimated results of the Cobb-Douglas production function showed that the total area of pools, number of baby fish, labor, and feed cost, Floating usage, and Aerator usage have a significant effect on fish production. According to the results, if the total pools area increases by one percentage, the frontier fish production will increase by 0.06 percentages, and if the number of baby fish increase by one percentage, the fish production will increase more than one percent. After estimating the frontier production function, the technical inefficiency model was estimated. The results showed that with increasing age, the technical efficiency rise and enhancing the participation to the fish training courses and being fish breeding as the main job, have a positive effect on the technical efficiency so that it improves significantly. Also, increasing the number of pools and being fish farming as the main job has a positive effect on the technical efficiency of farms. Regarding the impact of risk management tools on the technical efficiency of fish farms, it was observed that the technology selection with fewer risk tools has a negative impact, and the flexibility tools, and the use of marketing contracts tools have a positive effect on breeders' technical efficiency. So, by using these tools, the technical efficiency of the farms also increases. Finally, the technical efficiency of the farms was calculated and results revealed that about 50% of farms have an efficiency of more than 90%, and farms with a pool area of 1000-1500 square meters with 89% efficiency, have the highest technical efficiency.

The results showed that among the in-farm risk management strategies, the selection technology with less risk tool is the most popular and the tool of the financing method is very common in the off-farm risk management strategies. In address to the comparison between In-farm and Off-farm’s risk management strategies, the fish farmers are more likely to use in-farm risk management strategies. The estimated results of the Cobb-Douglas production function showed that the total area of pools, number of baby fish, labor, and feed cost, Floating usage, and Aerator usage have a significant effect on fish production. According to the results, if the total pools area increases by one percentage, the frontier fish production will increase by 0.06 percentages, and if the number of baby fish increase by one percentage, the fish production will increase more than one percent. After estimating the frontier production function, the technical inefficiency model was estimated. The results showed that with increasing age, the technical efficiency rise and enhancing the participation to the fish training courses and being fish breeding as the main job, have a positive effect on the technical efficiency so that it improves significantly. Also, increasing the number of pools and being fish farming as the main job has a positive effect on the technical efficiency of farms. Regarding the impact of risk management tools on the technical efficiency of fish farms, it was observed that the technology selection with fewer risk tools has a negative impact, and the flexibility tools, and the use of marketing contracts tools have a positive effect on breeders' technical efficiency. So, by using these tools, the technical efficiency of the farms also increases. Finally, the technical efficiency of the farms was calculated and results revealed that about 50% of farms have an efficiency of more than 90%, and farms with a pool area of 1000-1500 square meters with 89% efficiency, have the highest technical efficiency.

Given that producers use risk-reduction tools rather than transferring risk on farms and this also harms the technical efficiency, so it is recommended that in a progressive world to take advantage of modern production technology, a great facility should be provided.

Productivity is an inexhaustible source of economic growth. Cereal, including wheat, barley, rice and corn, because of its important position in production and consumption, are the most important agricultural products in Iran. In this study, by measuring the average total factors productivity (TFP) growth and its components, the situation of farm management and technological progress in cereal farms of the southwest provinces of the country was analyzed.

The data envelopment analysis (DEA) method was used to calculate the total factors productivity (TFP) and analyze its constituent components (technical efficiency growth and technological changes). Through the Ministry of Agriculture, yield and production costs of cereal products including wheat, barley, rice and corn as panel data for seven southwestern provinces, during a 12-year period (2003-2014), were extracted and analyzed.

In most provinces, the main source of TFP growth in irrigated wheat farms is due to technological progress, and in terms of efficiency or farm management, the recession is prevalent. Regarding rain-fed wheat, positive changes in technology and efficiency were observed simultaneously only in Esfahan, Ilam, Chaharmahal Bakhtiari and Kohgiluyeh provinces, and in the case of rain-fed barley in Fars, Kohgiluyeh and Ilam. The limitation of TFP growth in corn is mainly due to poor farm management and, conversely, to rice due to the stagnation of technology.

The decomposition of TFP growth into its components showed different results in each province and each product. Therefore, in some provinces, in the case of irrigated wheat and corn, due to the lack of technical efficiency, educational and extension programs and improving farm management are a priority. While for paddy fields, due to the technology recession, the development of mechanization and technology is a priority.

The purpose of this study is to compare the experimental results obtained from estimating the technical and profit efficiency of rice farmers in Guilan province and determining the effect of efficiency improvement on pollution caused by overuse of chemical fertilizers in 2018-2019.

For analysis of technical and profit efficiency, the directional distance function has been used. Farms were classified into three groups according to region (east, center and west). Also, the farms were divided into 5 groups based on rice varieties (Hashmi variety, Ali Kazemi variety, Shiroudi variety, Jamshidi variety and Khazar variety). R, GAMS and Excel software were used in this study.

The results showed that improving the technical efficiency lead to the reduction of nutrients surplus discharged into the environment. But, the profit efficiency mostly increases the amounts of nutrients surplus discharged into the environment. Base on results, technical efficiency improvement reduces the amount of nutrients surplus discharged into the environment for Hashemi variety by 3.5 to 38.8 kg/ha, Ali Kazemi variety by 0.4 to 23.3 kg/ha, Jamshidi variety by 7.6 to 42 kg/ha, Khazar variety by 2.9 to 20.7 kg/ha and Shiroudi variety by 18 to 48.6 kg/ha.

If the rice farmers of Gilan province become technically efficient, this will lead to the reduction of pollution in all areas.  Considering that the excessive use of chemical fertilizers leads to the discharge of nutrients surplus into the environment, therefore encouraging rice farmers to perform soil test and optimum use of chemical fertilizers can lead to reduced pollution and increased technical efficiency.

Today one of the most important issues of human societies is the growing population of the world and the provision of healthy and sufficient food for this growing population. Due to the limited resources of agricultural sector, the most appropriate solution to increase production and income in the agricultural sector is the optimal use of inputs by improving efficiency and productivity. In addition, the level of technology is also one of the factors affecting productivity growth. Studies show that most of the people in the world, and especially developing countries suffering from scarce of protein, so animals protein has important role in humans health and life and its quality and amount must be optimal. The poultry industry is the one of the most important protein source. Identifying the components of total factor productivity (TFP) and examining its changes in the poultry industry during the production process leads to more efficient production and productivity growth. Moreover, improving the total factor productivity can save production resources.

The objective of this research is analyze the total factor productivity growth, technical efficiency and technological change in the Iranian poultry industry. This study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) method and Malmquist index to calculate the total factor productivity changes and analyze its components as well as the technical efficiency of broiler production units during the study period. Based on output oriented approach, Malmquist TFP index decomposed into technical efficiency changes (Maximum output from minimal input quantities), technological changes (changes in technology that lead to an increase in productivity), pure efficiency changes and scale efficiency changes. The Malmquist TFP index measures the TFP change between two data points by calculating the ratio of the distances of each data point relative to a common technology. An advantage of the Malmquist TFP index method is that it does not require price data for the analysis. The data used in this study are information about the amounts of inputs used in the production of chicken meat, including poultry feed, labor and energy, as well as the amount of production of this product for the period 1996-2017 that are taken from the Statistics Center of Iran about 28 provinces. DEEp 2.1 software was used to measure and analyze the TFP index.

The results showed that the technical efficiency average under the assumption of variable return to scale was 0.796. This means that production units can increase their production by 20.4% without changing the amount of their consumption inputs. Only the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Bushehr, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Mazandaran, Markazi and Hormozgan have achieved full technical efficiency. The average of scale efficiency for the studied provinces was 0.901. The highest scale efficiency is (1.000) belongs to East Azerbaijan and markazi provinces; as well as Hormozgan province with value of 0.563 has the lowest scale efficiency among the studied provinces. The results as well as showed that annual average growth of total factor productivity in Iran broiler farms is 17.7%, which is different in provinces. Kermanshah province has the highest TFP equal to 0.461 and Yazd and Ghom have the lowest TFP respectively. Total factor productivity growth has been negative only in Kohgiluyeh, Boyer-Ahmad and Markazi provinces. The study of productivity components indicate that the technology change with an average value of 14.1% is the most important factor in term of increasing the productivity of broiler farms during the study period. Technical efficiency change with an average value of 3.2% is the second factor affecting of TFP growth. Pure efficiency change and scale efficiency change with the average values of 2% and 1.1%, respectively are in the third and fourth place in terms of impact on productivity.

The findings from the analyses are that for achieving of high total factor productivity in Broiler chicken farms in Iran, we need more attention to technology in this part. In general, the development and promotion of technological symbols such as improved breeds, improve air conditioning, lighting and feeding systems can be considered to improve the total factor productivity. Also according to the findings poultry farms show a relatively large range to improve technical efficiency. Therefore, more efficient production methods, observance of educational and sanitary principles in order to reduce losses to improve technical efficiency seems necessary. Also low scale efficiency in some provinces is a serious problem and it is suggested to increase their efficiency by determining the optimal size of their performance. The findings from the analyses are that for achieving of high total factor productivity in Broiler chicken farms in Iran, we need more attention to technology in this part. In general, the development and promotion of technological symbols such as improved breeds, improve air conditioning, lighting and feeding systems can be considered to improve the total factor productivity. Also according to the findings poultry farms show a relatively large range to improve technical efficiency. Therefore, more efficient production methods, observance of educational and sanitary principles in order to reduce losses to improve technical efficiency seems necessary. Also low scale efficiency in some provinces is a serious problem and it is suggested to increase their efficiency by determining the optimal size of their performance. The findings from the analyses are that for achieving of high total factor productivity in Broiler chicken farms in Iran, we need more attention to technology in this part. In general, the development and promotion of technological symbols such as improved breeds, improve air conditioning, lighting and feeding systems can be considered to improve the total factor productivity. Also according to the findings poultry farms show a relatively large range to improve technical efficiency. Therefore, more efficient production methods, observance of educational and sanitary principles in order to reduce losses to improve technical efficiency seems necessary. Also low scale efficiency in some provinces is a serious problem and it is suggested to increase their efficiency by determining the optimal size of their performance

One of the most important economic tools in promoting the agricultural sector is the optimal use of inputs, especially water inputs. Water scarcity and the high costs of providing it have made increasing the efficiency and value of water consumption one of the most important national goals. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the water use efficiency in the country's agriculture sub-sector. For this purpose, the non-parametric stochastic data model (StoNED) has been used. The research data include gross crop production, water consumption, labor and intermediate inputs in the agricultural sub-sector of 30 provinces of the country during the years 2005-2015, which has been collected from the website of the Ministry of Jihad Agriculture. Based on the results, the average efficiency of total production inputs in the agricultural sub-sector was equal to 93.36 percent and the average efficiency of irrigation water during the period under study in this sub-sector was equal to 83.02 percent (periodic average). Irrigation water efficiency in all years under study was less than the efficiency of total production inputs. Therefore, due to the low efficiency of water input consumption compared to other used inputs, it is suggested that extension courses be held to inform farmers in the field of correct and optimal use of water input. Also, the results of this study have shown that the average water efficiency of the provinces in the agricultural sub-sector has been equal to 83.14 percent (cross-sectional average) that the provinces of Gilan and Qom have the highest (87.76 percent) and the lowest (81.85 percent), respectively. Therefore, in order to improve water use efficiency, it is suggested that in the cultivation planning of provinces with low water efficiency, including Qom, Ilam, South Khorasan, Ardabil, Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Bushehr, Kurdistan, Semnan and North Khorasan, Take actions such as Improving the irrigation system of crops and modifying the cultivation pattern towards cultivating low-water crops and optimizing it.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency and technological gap ratio (TGR) of different rice cultivars in Guilan province For this purpose, metafrontier method was used to determine the TGR. The statistical population of the study was all rice farmers in Guilan province in 2017. Sample size was selected by stratified sampling method. The results showed that the mean technical efficiency range of different rice varieties was between 76% and 93%. In fact, if the gap between the farmers in the study is filled. In fact, the average yield of the Hashemi, Domsiah, Ali Kazemi, Jamshidjo, Shiroudi and Khazar could be 47, 7, 23, 12, 8 and 15 present increases respectively. The results also showed that the highest technological gap ratio for the studied varieties was related to Hashemi (0.96) and the lowest technology gap ratio was related to Khazar (0.45). Based on the results income, mechanization index, farmer's main occupation, ownership, experience and land size have a positive and significant effect on farmers' technical efficiency.

This study aimed to evaluate the Factors Affecting the Technical Efficiency of Agricultural Production Cooperatives in Golestan Province by using the data envelopment analysis method with a product-oriented approach and constant and variable returns to scale. The required data was obtained in the field and by completing a questionnaire and interviewing the managers of 36 agricultural production cooperatives active in Golestan province in 2020. To evaluate the technical efficiency, the Tobit regression model has also been used to investigate the factors affecting performance. The results show that the average technical efficiency of the surveyed cooperatives under the conditions of fixed returns and variable returns to the scale is almost equal; Therefore, agricultural production cooperatives in Golestan province are faced with a high level of scale efficiency. The results show that 69% of companies have fixed returns, 25% have descending returns and 6% have upward returns to the scale of production. The results of the study of factors affecting technical efficiency also indicate that the age variable has a negative and significant effect on performance. Also, the asset variable has a positive and significant effect on efficiency. The average values of technical and managerial efficiency show that it is possible to increase the output by 13% with the same amount of input. It is necessary to increase the efficiency of production cooperatives by supporting young people and using them in the field of production and providing the necessary funds for companies.

The present descriptive-survey research was conducted to investigate attitudes of fatteners about the factors affecting the development of male calf fattening units in Guilan province. The data of the present study were collected through a questionnaire and its validity was controlled by 10 professors and its reliability was obtained by calculating the Cronbach's coefficient of 0.92. The study population of fatteners included 52 active fattening units in Guilan province which were census. This research was conducted in two separate sections. The purpose of the first part was to be aware of the current situation of fattening in the province that the results showed that the average technical efficiency using the variable and constant efficiency approach to the scale is equal to 0.961 and 0.941, respectively, which show the high production efficiency of fattening units in Guilan province and also fatteners' satisfaction with continuing their work was moderate. The second part of the study sought to examine the attitude of fatteners about the factors affecting the development of male calf fattening units in Guilan province, which examined the attitude of fatteners about social, economic, fattening cooperatives, structure, and presentation of educational-extension courses. The results showed that from the point of view of fatteners, indicators of economic, structural, and participation in educational-extension courses have a significant impact on fattening and explain about 95% of its changes.

This study was conducted to evaluate the technical efficiency of Gilan seine fishing cooperatives. In this research, the data envelopment analysis method was used and the data of this research were collected by using a questionnaire from the cooperatives for the year 2017. The results showed that these cooperatives had about 93% technical efficiency on average. So, the cooperatives can have 7% more fishing without increasing their inputs. Also, about 46% of cooperatives are in a state of incremental returns to scale or scale economies and about 26% of cooperatives are in a state of decreasing returns to scale or scale diseconomies. In addition, this study identified the most important reference cooperatives as well as the possibility of reducing inputs for cooperatives that are not 100% efficient. In general, although the fishing cooperatives of Guilan province are in a favorable position in terms of technical efficiency, but, considering the amount of technical efficiency and returns to scale, it is better that the Fisheries Organization of Iran provide more support to cooperatives that are less efficient to become more efficient and reduce costs, and encourage more efficient and superior cooperatives.

In order to investigate the efficiency of farms and the rainbow trout production function, the study was carried out at rainbow trout breeding farms in Alshtar city in Lorestan province during 2017. The data collection method was interviews and questionnaires. Data on production functions were estimated by Cobb Douglas functions and technical efficiency by deterministic parametric frontier (DPF) analysis method. The average technical, allocative and economic efficiency was 62.1%, 57.7% and 54.6%, respectively, that indicating significant potential of the units in increasing their efficiencies. The results of trout production function showed that the amount of feed intake and the area of fish farm with elasticity coefficients (0.369 and 0.270) had the most effect on trout production (P<0.01). The results showed that most trout breeding farms in Alshater due to lack of observance of economic principles in management, lack of knowledge of the factors affecting the production had low efficiency and profitability. In general, according to the results, there was a considerable gap between the units studied in Al-Shater city in terms of economic performance. This is due to the lack of attention to management issues in choosing the right combination of inputs (low allocative efficiency), respectively. Therefore, improving the conditions of breeding units, including nutrition and hygiene, is necessary to increase the efficiency and production of fish farms units in Alshtar.

Analysis of technical efficiency of broiler production farms is necessary for optimal and economical use of available resources. The aim of this study was to measure and compare the technical efficiency of broiler production farms in Birjand and Darmian counties. The sample size was determined using Cochran's formula and the required data collected by completing a questionnaire from 201 active meat poultry units in Birjand and Darmian counties by random sampling method. Comprehensive Data Analysis (DEA) method used to analyze the data. The results showed that the average technical efficiency of poultry farmers in Birjand and Darmian counties was 93 and 88%, respectively, assuming a fixed return to the scale, and 95 and 93%, respectively, assuming variable returns to the scale, which is a statistically significant difference(p<0/05). Also, the capacity to improve production and efficiency in poultry farms in Darmian county is more than Birjand county and is estimated to be 11.7 and 7%, respectively. The average scale efficiency and technical efficiency (in both fixed and variable returns) of poultry units in Birjand county is more than Darmian county, which on the one hand indicates better management of resource use in poultry units of Birjand and on the other hand shows the potential to increase production and efficiency of poultry units in darmian. Therefore, without changing the production technology and by promoting technical and managerial factors from the most efficient poultry units to low efficiency poultry units, the gap between broiler poultry units in Darmian and Birjand can be reduced.

Rapeseed is a product that has a significant role in ensuring food security in the country. Its share of total crop production was reported to be 0.49% in previous years (2006-2007) but now stands at 0.41%. According to the Sixth Five Year Plan of Economic, Social and Cultural Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran it is necessary to increase the production of rapeseed from 146 thousand tons in the crop year 2013-2014 to 934 thousand tons in the crop year 2020-2021. The production of this product during the first two years of the program (2017 and 2018, respectively) was 181.1 and 329.8 thousand tons, respectively, which were 46.9 and 41.2 thousand tons less than the stated targets, respectively. While quantifying the goals of development plans does not address the production priorities at the farm level, it is certainly possible to increase the likelihood and speed of achieving the goals at hand by establishing greater coordination between objectives at different levels of decision-making. Although policy priorities are always increasing the production but the farmer, besides the anticipated production considers the costs of production and profitability, too.Ghaderzadeh and Pirmohammadian (2019) investigated energy efficiency in potato fields of Hamadan province. Based on the findings, the mean technical, managerial and scale efficiencies were 74.8%, 94.1% and 90.4%, respectively, indicating that it was possible to improve energy efficiency by managing inputs usage, especially fertilizers and seeds. In the current study, the technical, allocative, cost, income, and profit efficiencies of rapeseed were analyzed using information from 14 province. In this research, the efficiency of rapeseed production in the major provinces of this crop has been investigated using data envelopment analysis approach from different aspects. For this purpose, first, the technical, allocative and cost efficiency of production was calculated by country provinces and then the optimal amount of input consumption in different stages of preparation, planting, Maintenance and harvesting was calculated and compared with current consumption values. Then, after determining income efficiency, profit efficiency and estimating the internal rate of return on investment in rapeseed production, it was investigated the relationship between the variables under study using correlation coefficient (Coelli et al., 2005). WinQSB, COMFAR and SPSS softwares were used in the study.Based on the results, the mean technical, allocative and cost efficiencies for the yield index were 0.90, 0.75, and 0.69, respectively, and for the income index, 0.91, 0.76, and 0.70, respectively. In order to improve the cost efficiency if the yield goal was to be achieved, the cost allocated to renting, preparing, planting and maintains should be reduced by 51.10%, 12.95%, 41.09% and 34.61% respectively, and the cost of harvesting could be increased by 2.77%. If income was the top priority, then, with the exception of land preparation, there was a need to plan for cost savings with priority for rent (4.05 million Rials) and planting (3.10 million Rials). According to the calculations, the average yield could be increased from 1885 to 2574 kg/ha, which was a 37% increase in production. This improvement could lead to an increase in revenue of 13 million Rials (32%) per hectare of rapeseed. The average earnings efficiency was calculated 0.81 units, indicating a 19% gap with the optimal rate. Currently, the average profitability of rapeseed farming is 15 million Rials per hectare, which can be increased by up to 71 Million Rials, which is equivalent to 386 percent improvement. The actual profit and profit efficiency were negative in Markazi, Hormozgan, Qazvin and North Khorasan provinces, but overall profit efficiency is 17% and was significantly different from optimal. Kerman, East Azerbaijan and Lorestan provinces had the highest profit efficiency in rapeseed farming with 80, 55 and 41 percent, respectively. The same was also reflected in the index of internal rate of return as the provinces with 888%, 325% and 278% were the most suitable areas for rapeseed agriculture development. The results of correlation coefficient showed that there was no significant relationship between technical efficiency and profitability. According to the results, the production structure in the provinces of Markazi, Hormozgan, Qazvin and North Khorasan needs to be revised and Kerman, East Azerbaijan and Lorestan provinces are introduced as central zones of rapeseed development in the country.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of adoption conservation tillage technology on the incidence and probability of technical efficiency.

To achieve the research goal, Heckman two-step model was used. The applied cross sectional data cover the growing season of 2015-16. the data were collected through completing questionnaires from a sample of 168 wheat growers in Dezful county who were selected by multistage random cluster sampling method.

The results of financial analysis showed that conservation tillage increases yield and gross profit per hectare by 20.22% and 21.44%, respectively compared to conventional tillage proceders. The average technical efficiency of the selected farmers is 0.78. Also, the results indicated that in terms of production and management technology, the technical efficiency difference between the most efficient and inefficient producer is 0.43. Furthermore, It is found that technology adoption of conservation tillage, ratio of available cultivation machines of conservation tillage in each village, growing experience water use and education level have significant effects and Labor and distance from village variables have negative and significant effect on technical efficiency of farmers. The conservation tillage adoption with a marginal effect of 0.48 showed the highest effect on the technical efficiency. The results also showed that farmers who use conservation tillage technologies are expected to be more efficient by 0.35, on average.

Adoption of conservation tillage technology and providing the relevant machines will increase the possibility higher technical efficiency. Regarding that conservation tillage is more beneficial compared to the conventional one and that there is a positive and significant relationship between adoption of conservation tillage and technical efficiency of wheat growers, farmers should be encouraged to adopt conservative technology through enhancing farmers' knowledge and awareness of the benefits of conservation method and increasing the provision of facilities to farmers.

In this study, the technical, allocative, cost and profitability efficiencies of potato cultivation were studied, using the Published data of the Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture for the 2014-2015 crop year. Based on the findings of input orientated and fixed return to scale approach, the average technical efficiency of potato production was 0.917 and in the output orientated with variable returns to scale, it was 0.970. According to the results, it was possible to increase the technical efficiency. The lowest and highest input efficiencies were 0.88 and 0.91 for labor and seed inputs, respectively. According to the results, average allocative efficiency was 0.708 and the lowest score belonged to Yazd province (0.247). In terms of cost efficiency, the lowest and most scores were related to Kermanshah and Yazd provinces with 1 and 0.247, respectively.

The purpose of this study was determination of technical efficiency for Sirjan dairy farms using fuzzy data envelopment analysis approach. The underlying assumption of this method unlike conventional data envelopment analysis approach is that input and output data have imprecise. Since activities of agricultural and animal husbandry is done under environmental uncertainty conditions there is uncertainty about inputs and outputs. Therefore employing fuzzy data envelopment analysis is preferred into conventional data envelopment analysis. Necessary information for this study was collected through filling questionnaires for the years 2017 from 32 units of dairy farms in Sirjan. The result showed that the average technical for dairy farms was 81 percent. It has undulate from at least 36% up most 100%. In the other words, can increase amount of efficiency without changing the level of technology and better use of current technology. Also the gap between the best and the worst producer was 64% that can be improved by increasing technical and managerial knowledge, more promotion and new sciences and techniques among the dairy farms of the region.