The technical efficiency indexes for the rural producer from the central region of SantaCatarina’s western side have been identified, thus enabling to determine their managerial profile through theevaluation of processes of decision-making in the properties, administration of agricultural business firms,strategical behaviour, time management, and information transferences. Moreover, the inter-relation amongefficient enterprises and managerial ability, and vice-versa, was also verified. The methodology used in thequalitative analysis was the Data Envelopment Analysis-DEA, and the data used for such analysis weregathered by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. Twelve out of the fifty-eight analyzed properties didreach the efficiency frontier, thus being presented as benchmark to the other 46. After grouping the 58 units,through multivaried analysis, five distinct groups were defined for the studied sample, five inefficientproperties having been chosen, one from each group, in order to enable for the development of the qualitativeresearch. Plus, 4 of the properties which had been presented as benchmark were defined, enabling for theanalysis on the firms which were considered as efficient. The study allowed one to state that a positivecorrelation between managerial abilities and technical efficiency does exist. However, one could also observethat the properties which showed to be technically efficient did not present specific features related to themanagerial ability. The observed differencials were those resulting from a longer managerial experience aswell as from the feeling which leads to correct decision-making. One single factor, considered preponderantfor such matter, was the inexistence of integration in one single activity in all the efficient properties, a factwhich was not observed in the inefficient ones. Another fact observed was a considerable lack ofadministrative maturity, generated mainly by insufficient instruction, and the lack of a sistemic visualizationof the business.
