Title: Measuring technical efficiency of Greek red suckler cow breed's farms in Central Macedonia region using a data envelopment analysis model

Authors: Maria Tsiouni; Dimitris Gourdouvelis; Stamatis Aggelopoulos; Demetris Vrontis; Antonino Galati

Addresses: School of Agriculture, International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece ' Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece ' School of Agriculture, International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece ' Gnosis Mediterranean Institute for Management Science, University of Nicosia, Cyprus; School of Business, University of Nicosia, Cyprus ' Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

Abstract: This study aims to estimate the technical efficiency (TE) of a randomly selected sample of red Greek suckler cow breed farms in the area of Central Macedonia and identify the most technically efficient characteristics of cow-calf operations. Moreover, this work wants to verify the impact of local and European policies in support of the sector on the estimated efficiency. The research investigates the technical efficiency of 64 suckler cow farms by using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. Findings reveal that the most efficient farms were larger, with higher gross revenue, and higher cost of fixed capital than non-efficient farms. In addition, the cost of variable capital, which directly affects profitability, was lower on efficient farms. Efficient farms demonstrate better techno-economic results and managerial practices. This is the first research that studies the red suckler cow breed, based on original data obtained from a direct survey in a field interview.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis; DEA; technical efficiency; financial indicators; suckler cow farming; red Greek breed.

DOI: 10.1504/JIBED.2022.126951

Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development, 2022 Vol.14 No.3, pp.329 - 348

Received: 11 May 2022
Accepted: 11 May 2022
Published online: 14 Nov 2022 *

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