Title: Rice production technical efficiency in a highly urbanised area in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand

Authors: Naruebet Meelua; Suneeporn Suwanmaneepong

Addresses: Faculty of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand ' Faculty of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand

Abstract: This study investigates rice farmers' technical efficiency in a highly urbanised area in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand. The study used a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) in measuring farmers' level of technical efficiency (TE), while a Tobit regression was employed to assess the factors affecting TE. The results revealed that rice farmers' TE levels ranged from 0.53-1.00, with an overall mean value of 0.84, indicating a considerable potential in enhancing TE to improve rice production. Moreover, the study found cultivated area, education level, and rice farming experience significantly affected production efficiency; whereas the significant association of the land area to the production efficiency suggests the need for government to be cautious about converting land areas for non-agricultural activities brought by urbanisation growth. Lastly, the study suggests improving TE levels through more substantial policy support and programmes targeting the strengthening of rice farmers' technical knowledge.

Keywords: technical efficiency; rice production; Tobit regression; urban Thailand; rice farmers; policy research; production efficiency; urbanisation; socio-demographic factors.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2024.136947

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2024 Vol.51 No.4, pp.572 - 583

Received: 14 Aug 2021
Accepted: 15 Aug 2021
Published online: 01 Mar 2024 *

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