Do women produce efficiently? Empirical evidence from rice farming in Indonesia

Abstract

Many studies have emphasized the important role of women in the agriculture sector and rural development. However, many existing empirical studies have also shown various barrier faced by women especially due to the limited access and control of agricultural resources. This study aims to analyze the productivity and technical efficiency of female farmers in Indonesian rice industry. To this end, this study using stochastic production function analysis by employing national agricultural survey data in 2014. The empirical results finds that the productivity of female’s farmer in the Indonesian rice farming has been affected by the cultivated land, the use of fertilizer and seed, as well the type of mechanization which propose different marginal productivity for each factor. Meanwhile, the average technical efficiency level is found to be at 0.645 percent. Furthermore, the level of efficiency is explained by the role of the level of education and age of the female farmers, but no effect from the farmer group membership, and participation in the farmers training program.