Analyze agricultural efficiency and influencing factors by the three-stage DEA model taking Anhui Province as an example

Abstract The agriculture sector in China plays an important role in the country’s economy and provides a crucial foundation for achieving and maintaining food security. Anhui Province has a unique geographical location, with the Huaihe River as the boundary, forming three different geological features, resulting in a variety of agricultural production methods. Therefore, the investigation into the effectiveness of agricultural production in Anhui Province has a wide range of reference significance. To explore the regional disparities in the effectiveness of agricultural output in Anhui Province’s various regions, using a three-stage DEA model, this research analyzes the efficiency and output of agricultural production in 16 cities in Anhui Province in 2021. In addition, a three-stage dynamic analysis is performed using the Malmquist index to demonstrate the dynamic shifts in agricultural production efficiency across different prefecture-level cities in Anhui Province between 2017 and 2021. By comparing and analyzing the data after two three-stage adjustments, it is discovered that the agricultural production efficiency of 16 cities has changed obviously, and there is a big gap between them. Therefore, targeted policies should be formulated according to the actual situation. Due to the unique geographical structure of Anhui Province, this study provides a new analytical method to solve the problem of agricultural production efficiency. This method can be applied to other countries or other departments.