Effects of Mechanization and Investments on the Technical Efficiency of Cassava Farms in Cambodia

Abstract

Cassava is one of the most important cash crops in Cambodia. Agricultural mechanization promotes productivity, but overinvestment may disrupt the balance between inputs and outputs. Depending on the production scale, sometimes hiring equipment is considered better than purchasing it. While we can hypothesize that mechanization and investments might be crucial factors of productivity, technical efficiency analysis for estimating their effects has not yet been conducted. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of mechanization and investments on cassava yield and producers’ technical efficiency in Cambodia using the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production model. For the study, 205 respondents were randomly selected and interviewed in the Battambang and Pailin provinces in northwestern Cambodia in 2017. Our results show that tractor or truck-hire cost was positively significant, and the cassava uprooting machine-hire cost was negatively significant. The average technical efficiency score of 0.62 indicates that cassava producers can increase their level of technical efficiency. Although cassava production in Cambodia is mechanized and investors are investing, it would be more beneficial to producers if they were provided with financial assistance when uprooting the cassava at the harvest time. Appropriate control of input costs can effectively improve cassava yield, following the implementation of the National Policy on Cassava 2020–2025 by the Royal Government of Cambodia.