Enhancing the Sustainability of Smallholder Coffee Systems: Technical Efficiency in Organic and Conventional Coffee Production Systems in Oaxaca, Mexico

Optimizing resource use in smallholder coffee production promotes environmental sustainability. Coffee production in the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca, Mexico, is dominated by small-holder systems characterized by high production variability and limited access to resources. Although organic and conventional systems coexist under similar agroecological conditions, limited evidence exists on how agronomic practices influence efficiency. This study estimated technical efficiency and its determinants using a one-stage stochastic frontier model with data from 290 coffee growers. Mean efficiency was 0.762 for conventional growers and 0.566 for organic growers. In the conventional system, planting density, plantation age, weed control, and shade management significantly reduced inefficiency, whereas off-farm employment increased it. In the organic system, training was the only factor significantly associated with higher efficiency. Despite tending to achieve higher average production and yield, organic growers exhibited larger production gaps and greater heterogeneity in resource use, indicating substantial opportunities to increase output through more efficient input utilization rather than expanding cultivated areas. These findings demonstrate that higher production does not necessarily imply greater technical efficiency, providing evidence to support public policies aimed at strengthening extension services, promoting training, and encouraging agronomic management to improve efficiency and enhance the sustainability of smallholder coffee production systems.