Production relations and technical inefficiency in pistachio farming systems in Kerman Province of Iran

This paper reports on an analysis of production and technical inefficiency in pistachio farming systems in Iran. A random sample of 233 farmers was selected from the province of Kerman during 2003 and 2004, which is a larger data set with a wider spatial coverage compared with the previous studies on pistachio production. Technical inefficiency indices are computed using a stochastic frontier production function assuming a translog form. The study also reports on productivity and efficiency differences between varieties of pistachio trees and provides estimates of age-yield and density-yield functions. Estimates of mean technical efficiency in 2003 and 2004 are 65.2 and 63.7%, which are not significantly different. The mean technical efficiency scores across both years for plantations of the Kalleh-Ghuchi, Akbari, Fandoghi varieties and for plantations containing a mixture of all three varieties are 65.8, 59.4, 62.4 and 78.7%, respectively. Farmers cultivating the more traditional mixed-variety plantation are more technically efficient than those specializing in one of the three tree varieties. We found a positive relation between technical efficiency and experience, and suggest that extension programmes should be aimed at the less experienced farmers.