Chestnut blight and technical efficiency in chestnut production: Case study of Aydin Province, Turkey

One of the most important problems in the chestnut farming of Turkey is the chestnut blight disease. The purpose of this study was to examine the technical efficiency in the chestnut farms isolated from and infected with chestnut blight and the factors affecting inefficiency. The main data was derived from 99 chestnut farms via face-to-face surveys in the province of Aydin using the stratified sampling method. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method was used to determine the technical efficiency in chestnut production, and the Tobit model was used to identify the factors determining inefficiency. DEA results indicated that the average technical, allocative and economic efficiency in the farms free from chestnut blight were 0.87, 0.65 and 0.57, respectively; whereas these efficiency scores in the farms with chestnut blight were 0.76, 0.63 and 0.48, respectively. The Tobit model results highlighted that chestnut blight caused a statistically significant inefficiency in chestnut production. However, the education and age of the farm managers also decreased inefficiency in chestnut production. The government should establish a countrywide program to alleviate chestnut blight disease in chestnut production.