Technical Efficiency Analysis of Integrated Upland Rice Farms in Selected Municipalities in Caraga Region, Philippines: An Application of Stochastic Frontier Analysis

This study was conducted to evaluate the determinants of technical efficiency of integrated upland rice farms in selected municipalities in Caraga Region, Philippines. A survey questionnaire was administered to 239 respondents from four municipalities in Caraga Region. Data were analyzed using Herfindahl index (HI) and multi-input multi-output stochastic input distance functions. Results have shown that majority of integrated upland rice farms belong to 0.76 to 1.0 range which means that upland rice farmers were closest to complete specialization of the farms with a combination of upland rice and vegetables such as eggplants, string beans and squash. Furthermore, results on technical efficiency showed that years in upland farming, cropping per year, contact with extension agents, sex, tribe, land tenure, membership in an organization, and access to extension agents reduced technical inefficiency of integrated upland rice farms. It was found out the herfindal index has no significant effect on the level of technical efficiency of upland rice. Thus, it is recommended that the government should extend credit policy offering low interests for capital loans to upland rice farmers, intensify promotion of crop diversification, and provide effective extension services such as trainings and seminars conducted by government and non-government agencies that include research-based technology for upland rice farming.