Regional differences in technical performance of Slovak farms

The assessment of regional differences in the technical performance of farms in Slovakia requires a comprehensive analysis of various factors and sources, with technical efficiency in agriculture referring to the ability of a farm to produce a given level of output with a minimum amount of inputs or resources. The aim of the contribution was to evaluate the technical efficiency of Slovak farms at the regional level using the widely used method of Data Envelopment Analysis. We used an output-oriented DEA model to calculate a technical efficiency score for each farm and identify the most efficient farms. We found statistically significant differences between efficiency scores at the regional level. The highest technical efficiency scores were achieved by farms in Western Slovakia, and the lowest efficiency scores were achieved by farms in Eastern Slovakia. Farms in Eastern Slovakia lag behind those in Western Slovakia. While all farms are catching up with the most efficient farms in the Nitra region, it's worth noting that these farms experienced the highest decline during the period from 2014 to 2019. In conclusion, it can be concluded that in most regions the overall efficiency of agriculture has not been fully realized. These farms have the potential to improve efficiency by optimizing the use of resources, specifically by reducing their scale.