Abstract:
Wheat production can be enhanced by properly utilizing productive
inputs and managing production factors effectively in order to meet the
increasing demand for food. The primary goal of the current study was to
discover and assess the potential for increasing wheat productivity by
boosting farmers’ productive efficiency. The study employed farm level
cross sectional data collected from 286 farm households of three major
wheat growing areas in Bangladesh. Hundred percent farmers used
modern variety of wheat in their production practices. The variety BARI
Gom 30 produced highest yield (3006 kg/ha) followed by BARI Gom 32
(2934 kg/ha) and BARI Gom 33 (2902 kg/ha). Yield of wheat varied
across locations and among farm categories. The average yield was found
to be 3110 kg per hectare with highest average yield at Rajshahi followed
by Jamalpur (2920 kg/ha). The yield of Jamalpur (2920 kg/ha) and
Faridpur (2741 kg/ha) was less than the national average (3098 kg/ha).
Among farm categories, large farmers produced highest yield (3016
kg/ha) followed by medium (2938 kg/ha) and small (2817 kg/ha) farmers.
Full package of recommended production technologies was not adopted
by the farmers. Other socioeconomic factors have also played roles in the
variation in yields. The bio-physical constraints limiting wheat
production were: lack of good quality seed, soil type, poor utilization of
irrigation facilities etc. Among the socioeconomic factors, farmers’
contact with the extension worker had the positive and significant
influence on yield implying that, wheat yield could be increased
significantly by increasing farmers’ contact with the extension worker.
The coefficient of plot tenancy dummy had negative sign for all areas
implying that, wheat yield in the rented in plots were lower compared to
that of own plots. Labor cost accounted the highest share of the total
production costs (almost 18 percent) in all areas followed by fertilizer and
irrigation cost. The rate of profit was also substantially higher for the
farms in Rajshahi than that of Jamalpur and Faridpur. The share of
returns from wheat output for different factors of production did not
differ that much. Sowing time is an important factor for variation of
wheat yield. The residual (or operator’s surplus) was positive in the
cultivation of wheat in all the areas. The mean technical efficiency of
wheat growers was 81 percent suggesting that there existed a technical
inefficiency of 19 percent. The estimates of stochastic frontier production
function model showed that fertilizer and irrigation have a significant
positive impact on wheat production. The estimates of stochastic frontier
cost function model showed that fertilizer price and sowing at optimum
time would result in the decrease of production cost. Thus, farmers’
efficiency could be improved by 19 percent through the improvement of
technical efficiency. The coefficients of farmers’ education, wheat
farming experience, and training on wheat cultivation were negatively
significant in the inefficiency effect models implying that inefficiency
decreases with the increase in farmers education, wheat farming
experience, and training on wheat. The yield gap-I was estimated at 1189,
1203 and 1148 kg/ha in Jamalpur, Rajshshi and Faridpur respectively
resulting mostly from non-transferable components of technology and
environmental factors. Yield gap-II was estimated at 1703, 1623 and
1826 kg/ha in Jamalpur, Rajshshi and Faridpur respectively. This was
attributed mainly to technical inefficiency. The biotic and abiotic factors
were also combinedly responsible for yield gap II. The magnitude of
yield gap II was almost parallel in three production environments. The
study suggests that existence of some gaps in wheat yield, which may be
reduced to some extent through policy interventions and adoption of
improved technology.
Description:
This Thesis is Submitted to the Department of Crop Science and Technology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)