Technical efficiency in production of major food grains in Punjab, Pakistan

Based on the 2016-2017 farm survey data, this study examines technical efficiency in the production of wheat, rice, and maize in Punjab province in Pakistan. Technical efficiency, under varying returns to scale, in wheat farming averaged 0.65; in rice, it averaged 0.74, and in the case of maize, it was 0.92. A great majority of the sample farmers were estimated to be operating under increasing returns to scale. Estimations of scale inefficiency in wheat cultivation hovered around 18%; in rice, it ranged from 16% to 21%, and in maize, it varied from 7% to 17%. These estimates are indicative of the scope and the potential for increasing technical and scale efficiencies in the production of all food grains, albeit to varying degrees for different crops.