THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FARM SIZE AND THE TECHNICAL INEFFICIENCY OF PRODUCTION OF WHEAT FARMERS IN THE EASTERN FREE STATE, PROVINCE OF SOUTH AFRICA / SAMEVATTING: DIE VERHOUDING TUSSEN PLAASGROOTTE EN DIE TEGNIESE DOELTREFFENDHEID VAN KORINGBOERE IN DIE OOS VRYSTAAT

Abstract

Farm-level data for the 1988/89 agricultural year from a sample survey of wheat farmers in Eastern Free State, are analysed in this paper. Stochastic frontier production functions are estimated, in which the technical inefficiency effects are modelled in terms of the size of the farming operation and other explanatory variables. The technical inefficiency effects for the farmers involved are significant and the null hypothesis that the explanatory variables in the model for the inefficiency effects have zero coefficients is rejected. The technical inefficiency effects are negatively and significantly related to the size of the farms.

Elasticities of mean outputs with respect to the different inputs, together with the technical efficiencies of the wheat farmers, are estimated for both the translog and the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production functions. However, the Cobb-Douglas function is not an adequate representation of the data, given the specifications of the translog stochastic frontier production function.

Gegewens wat vir die 1988/89 landboujaar in 'n opname van koringboere in die Oostelike Vrystaat op plaasvlak ingesamel is, is in hierdie artikel ontleed. Stogastiese front produksiefunksies is geskat. Die tegniese ondoeltreffendheidseffekte is hierin gemodelleer in terme van die grootte van die boerderybesigheid en ander verklarende veranderlikes. Die tegniese ondoeltreffendheidseffekte vir die betrokke boere is betekenisvol en die nulhipotese dat die verklarende veranderlikes in die model zero koëffisiënte vir die ondoeltreffendheidseffekte het, word verwerp. Die tegniese ondoeltreffendheidseffekte is negatief en betekenisvol aan plaasgrootte verwant.

Elastisiteite van gemiddelde uitset met betrekking tot die verskillende insette, tesame met die tegniese doeltreffendhede van koringboere is met behulp van beide die translog- en die Cobb-Douglas stogastiese front produksiefunksies geskat. Die Cobb-Douglas funksie gee egter nie 'n behoorlike verteenwoordiging van die data as die spesifikasie van die translog stogastiese front produksiefunksie in gedagte gehou word nie.