Technical Efficiency Analysis of Broiler Farms in Iraq

Broiler chicken production, which has an important place in human nutrition in the world, has become a growing sector due to its production in a short time and its cheapness compared to its counterparts. However, the sensitivity of the production cycle consisting of short growing periods and the ruptures in the chain of activity deeply undermine the production effectiveness and lead to insufficient supply by pushing companies into an economic stalemate. This study aims to determine the technical efficiency of the broiler production farms in Iraq, to determine the causes of inefficiency that negatively affect the farms during production activities, and to develop solutions to the problems. To satisfy these objectives, the data from 181 randomly selected broiler farms were analyzed with the Data Envelopment Analysis method. As a result of the analysis, the technical efficiency scores of the farms were found to be 0.89 under constant return to scale (CRS) and 0.95 under variable return to scale (VRS). Of the 181 farms analyzed, 142 under CRS and 72 under VRS were found to be inefficient. It was determined that the main reason for the efficiency of the enterprises that are not working effectively was the use of excess input, as well as solutions and suggestions to all the problems identified. For inefficient farms, new levels of input have been estimated to make the farm efficient. In addition; In order to increase the effectiveness values of farms, farmers need to reduce the amount of input available, organize educational courses for farm workers, and improve the performance of employees.