Factors affecting the technical efficiency of turmeric farmers in the slash and burn areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

Turmeric farming in slash and burn areas of Bangladesh plays an important role for generating cash income. This paper estimates technical efficiency of turmeric farmers in the slash and burn areas of Bangladesh and identifies sources of inefficiency using survey data obtained from 150 farmers over 6 villages throughout 2014/2015 growing season. Turmeric farming displayed much variability in technical efficiency ranging from 18 to 96% with mean technical efficiency of 84%, which suggested a substantial 16% of potential output of turmeric can be recovered by removing inefficiency. Besides improving technical efficiency, potential also exists for raising turmeric production through intensive training and extension services. For a land scarce country like Bangladesh this gain could help increase income and ensure better livelihood for the hilly farmers. The key policy implication of the analysis is that investment in training and extension service would greatly improve technical efficiency.