Assessing rice production efficiency for food security policy planning in Malaysia: A non-parametric bootstrap data envelopment analysis approach

The 2007-2008 international food crisis triggered national food security policies of several countries worldwide, creating a problematic situation in the global food landscape and led to a drastic shift in the national food security policy (NFSP) approaches undertaken by affected countries. In this context, agricultural policies were reformulated to focus on achieving a certain degree of self-sufficiency while obtaining agricultural efficiency and sustainable agricultural development. This study empirically evaluated Malaysian rice self-sufficiency (RSS) approach, focusing on production efficiency closely related to maximizing production approach and minimizing environmental impact. We utilized non-parametric bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA), input-and output specifications to estimate the relative technical efficiency scores of decision-making units (DMUs) by constructing confidence intervals and correcting efficiency estimations. Our finding reveals that the Malaysian RSS policy approach demonstrates a better orientation toward output maximization than resource saving. However, the average annual change of the efficiency scores in both specifications was found to deteriorate during the analyzed period. Based on regional analysis, an improved RSS strategic approach could help the nation attain rice production maximization, minimize the environmental impacts, and obtain production efficiency mainly through modernizing the irrigation systems, efficient agrochemical inputs usage, adopting best agricultural practices, and implementing soil treatments programs.