Assessing production and marketing efficiency of organic horticultural commodities : a stochastic frontier analysis

Inefficiency is a problem in the production process, including in the organic farming sector. Over a long term period, this problem can disrupt the productivity of agricultural crops. This research aims to analyze the production and marketing efficiency of organic cabbage farming in the Kopeng agropolitan area, Indonesia. We utilized a Cobb-Douglas production efficiency analysis with the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) approach. The variables in this study include organic cabbage production, land area, seedlings, organic fertilizers, organic pesticides, and labor. We conducted in-depth interviews with 60 organic cabbage farmers in Kopeng, Indonesia, from January to August 2023. The research results showed that organic cabbage cultivation was economically inefficient in production, technical, and marketing. The use of organic fertilizers, the ability to diversify products on limited land, and the use of pesticides, have not been utilized optimally yet. The results of the marketing efficiency analysis showed that it was efficient. Organic plants were believed to have their market share and to have a higher selling value than non-organic ones. The implication was that the government needed to provide training in producing organic fertilizers and pesticides to reduce production costs so that organic farming could be technically and financially efficient. This research enriched the discussion regarding the need to analyze production and marketing efficiency to find strategies to increase organic cabbage productivity.