An Exploration of the Technical Efficiency of Wheat Production and Its Determinants Among Smallholder Farmers in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan

This study assesses the technical efficiency of wheat production and its determining factors among 384 smallholder farmers in the Imam Sahib, Ali Abad, and Khan Abad districts of Kunduz Province, Afghanistan. Agriculture in this region is the primary livelihood and essential for food security, yet wheat yields remain suboptimal due to inefficient input use and structural challenges. Using a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) based on the Cobb-Douglas production function, the study estimates farm-level efficiency while accounting for random variation. A Tobit regression model is employed to identify socio-economic and institutional factors affecting technical efficiency (TE), given that TE scores fall between 0 and 1. The findings reveal an average TE score of 77.89%, suggesting that farmers could boost output by 22.11% using the same inputs more efficiently. Key production inputs, land, labor, improved seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides, significantly influenced output. Additionally, higher education levels, better access to extension services, formal credit, mobile phone use, training participation, and market proximity positively impacted TE. These results point to considerable inefficiencies and highlight the need for targeted policy interventions to improve education, rural infrastructure, and institutional support. Promoting digital tools and effective extension services can also enhance productivity. The study provides practical insights to inform strategies aimed at strengthening agricultural performance and rural livelihoods in resource-constrained, post-conflict regions of northern Afghanistan.