Determinants of productivity and efficiency of okra production for export in Suphan Buri and Nakhon Pathom Provinces, Thailand

Abstract

Agriculture is the prime source of economic activities, especially in Asia. In the okra export market channels, Japan was a major importer, yet suspended all importation of okra from Thailand, according to the promulgation of the Positive List System. This study aimed to: 1) estimate one particular type of productive efficiency, viz. technical efficiency, in okra production in Thailand's Suphan Buri and Nakhon Pathom Provinces, by using a Cobb-Douglas production function for single okra output and multiple inputs. The analysis applied the Stochastic Production Frontier; 2) investigate the determinants of production efficiency by using Tobit regression. Based on data collected from 222 okra farming households in two provinces, who contracted with private companies to produce okra for export. The results revealed that the average technical efficiency of okra production among the samples in Suphan Buri and Nakhon Pathom Provinces was 81.45%. Furthermore, the results showed that okra growers' gender, age, formal years of schooling, number of family members engaged in okra production, and hired labour had positive relationships with efficiency scores. While years of experience in okra production had a negative effect.