Investigating the Productivity Growth and Efficiency of Production Factors in Agricultural Sector of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province of Iran

Over recent years, the accurate measurement and analysis of efficiency, along with the utilization of innovative technologies in the agricultural sector and its effect on total factor productivity in this sector has been taken into account by different researchers. Considering the significant potential of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province of Iran in the agricultural field, investigating the productivity growth and efficiency of production factors in this sector can contribute to improving the economic situation and employment in the province.

This study mainly aimed at investigating the productivity growth and efficiency of production factors using the non-parametric method, data envelopment analysis and the Malmquist productivity index to calculate productivity growth in the agricultural sector of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. For this purpose, the utilized data consisted of production factors in the agricultural sector of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province (including facility balance, labor, seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides), which were extracted from agricultural statistics and production cost reports of various years obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture-Jahad (MAJ). The data analysis was conducted using the statistical software DEAP2.1.

The study results indicated that technological changes had the greatest effect on agricultural productivity, and enhanced technology and input management productivity could contribute to improving agricultural productivity. In addition, the study findings showed that the optimal use of various inputs in agriculture was efficient in some years and inefficient in others. This inefficiency might be due to the lack of selecting an appropriate combination of data and parameters.Conclusion and Suggestions: Based on the results, it is suggested that there should be focused on technological innovations in agriculture, improving management processes as well as increasing awareness and training of farmers to enhance the productivity growth and agricultural development in the concerned province. In addition, the results of the productivity table using the Malmquist index showed how much productivity changes in the agricultural sector were caused by technical changes and efficiency changes in each year; and all the changes in productivity over the 15-year period were due to the technological changes. Therefore, it is suggested that the agricultural sector should fundamentally review the type, implementation and costing of research as well as how to transfer the findings to the agricultural sector so that in addition to increasing the technological changes, the technical efficiency will increase.