Analysis of the technical performance of potato growers in Tunisia, A non parametric approach

Despite the outstanding development of the potato sector, Tunisian growers still run significant risks raised by the input price increase and the market price fluctuation. Therefore, the improvement of their technical performance would allow mitigating these risks. A DEA model was applied to analyze the technical efficiency of a sample of growers in the region of Bizerte. The results reveal a resource use inefficiency of 19% on average under VRS assumption and of 31% under CRS assumption. Hence, there is considerable scope for progress. In order to explain the variability of the technical efficiency scores, the estimation of the Tobit model, shows that the growers' age, the land tenure, the water source and the irrigation system are some determinants which have to be taken into account when providing guidance for policy measures aimed at improving the farms' technical performance.