A Non-Parametric Analysis of Rice Production Efficiency in Sri Lanka

This article investigates the production efficiency of rice farming in Sri Lanka using cross section survey data of 90 farms. Past studies on rice farming have mostly focused on technical efficiency (TE). Here, we examine technical efficiency, allocative efficiency (AE) and cost efficiency (CE) using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. On average, the farms were 87% technically efficient; irrigated farms were more efficient (88%) than rain-fed farms (82%). Average cost, allocative and scale efficiencies were 73%, 84% and 87%. Bias corrected TE estimate suggests an expected output expansion of 25% with a given input combination in order to become fully efficient as opposed to 16% based on the original estimates. In addition, a second stage Tobit regression shows that efficiency is influenced by farm size, water security, ownership, seed quality, family labour endowment and female labour participation.