Survey of technical efficiency of Barberry producers in South Khorasan Province

Barberry is one of the most important products in Southern Khorasan province. The share of this province in total of Barberry production in Iran is about 98 percent. The objective of this study is to survey the factors that affect barberry production, calculating barberry producer’s technical efficiency and determining the factors that affecting producers’ efficiency in Southern Khorasan Province. The data was obtained using cluster sampling method and questionnaire completion from 90 farmers of this province in 2011. Cobb - Douglas production function was used to survey the factors affecting the barberry production. Results showed that labor, land, efficient or inefficient year and irrigation have the most significant effect on Barberry production respectively. Also, Results of Calculating technical efficiency and factors affecting technical efficiency show that the average technical efficiency of barberry producers is 81% and the highest and lowest scores are 99% and 34%, respectively. Also, experience, the main job and the number of family labor have a direct and significant effect on efficiency. Using new methods of irrigation to enhance the efficiency of irrigation and holding training classes to enhance the experiences of barberry producers is suggested.