The Production and Economic Efficiency of Artichoke in El-Beheira Governorate

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Economics, Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, Damanhour University

2 Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, damanhur University

3 Department of Economics and Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, Damanhour University.

Abstract

The research problem is represented in the low productivity of the artichoke crop in Beheira Governorate, which amounted to about 8.7 tons / feddan, compared to other producing governorates such as Matrouh, Gharbia and Kafr El Sheikh, where the average productivity of artichokes is about 16.3, 11.8, 10.0 tons / feddan, respectively, and in light of the high cost of human labor and seeds Chemical fertilizers, automated work and control are among the most important resources used in the production of artichokes, which leads to the difficulty of achieving profits for artichoke farmers in Beheira Governorate in light of its low productivity.
The research aimed to: (1) identify the current situation of artichoke production at the level of the Republic and Beheira Governorate, (2) the standard estimate of production functions and costs in the study sample in Beheira Governorate, (3) estimate the productive efficiency of the economic resources used in the production of the artichoke crop in the study sample, (4) Knowing the productive problems facing the artichoke farmers in the study sample and their suggestions to overcome them.
The research was based on the initial data that could be obtained from the questionnaire form whose data was completed in the field by selecting a sample of artichoke growers in Beheira Governorate whose size was 98 farmers who were randomly selected from villages of relative importance in the production of artichoke in Kafr El-Dawwar district in Beheira Governorate.
The results of the research indicate that the relative importance of the area planted with artichoke in Beheira governorate for the Republic reached a maximum of about 83.77% in 2005, and the lowest percentage was 29.39% in 2015. 2014, and the lowest rate was 74.41% in the year 2014, while the relative importance of artichoke production compared to the republic’s production reached a maximum of about 80.65% in 2005, and the lowest ratio reached 22.69% in 2016.
The results also indicate that the net return per feddan in the average sample of the study amounted to about 13.6 thousand pounds, and the average net return per ton is about 5.5 thousand pounds, and the rate of return on the invested pound in the average sample was about 0.6 piasters. It is also clear that there is an effect of the cultivated varieties on these indicators, as their rates in the French artichoke exceeded their counterparts in the municipal artichoke, which amounted to about 15.5 thousand pounds, 5.7 thousand pounds, and 0.7 piasters for the French artichoke, respectively, compared to the equivalent of the municipal artichoke, which amounted to about 11.7 thousand pounds, 5.4 thousand pounds, 0.50 pounds, respectively.
The results of the research also showed that the most important factors affecting the agricultural output of French artichoke are: the amount of human labor (x1), the amount of phosphate fertilizer (x4), nitrogen fertilizer (x3), and automated work, where the production flexibility for each of them is about 0.58, 320., 080., 0.02, respectively, while it is clear from the measurement results that the total productivity elasticity of the total artichoke sample for the estimated function amounted to about 0.84, which indicates a diminishing return to capacity, meaning that the increase in total resources by the estimated function by 10% leads to an increase in the output of artichoke by 8.4% With a direct relationship between the output of artichoke and the variables of human work, machine work, nitrogen and phosphate fertilization, organic fertilizers, toxins and control, and a negative relationship with all phosphate fertilizers and seeds.
It is clear by studying the cost functions that the optimal rate of production of municipal artichoke, French artichoke, and the total sample is about 8.5, 7.4, 12.9 tons / feddan, respectively, compared to the actual production, which is about 6.3, 6.8, 6.6 tons / feddan, respectively, which means that farmers Municipal and French artichoke crops and the total sample did not achieve economic efficiency in the optimal use of agricultural economic resources, with a waste in the use of those resources.
The results of the study also indicate that the technical efficiency of each of the municipal artichoke and the French artichoke is about 75% and 84%, respectively, in light of the stability of the return on capacity, while the economic efficiency of about 50% and 57%, respectively, in light of the stability of the return on the capacity, compared to about 64%, 68% in light of the increasing return to capacity.
The results also showed that all farmers reported the existence of productivity problems for the artichoke crop, as 87% of the farmers sample mentioned that the most important problems are the problem of the high price of fertilizers, and the problem of the high price of pesticides came in the second place with 76% of the total sample, and in the third place the problem of shortage Irrigation water is on time by 59%, followed by the problem of low seed quality by 56%, While the problem of lack of spraying machines came in the last place with 18% of the total sample of the study.

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