UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND ENVIRONMENT- RELATED PRACTICES ON TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF PADDY FARMERS IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THAILAND KALLIKA TARAKA FP 2012 78 EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND ENVIRONMENT-RELATED PRACTICES ON TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF PADDY FARMERS IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THAILAND KALLIKA TARAKA DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA 2012 © COPYRIGHT UPM EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND ENVIRONMENT-RELATED PRACTICES ON TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF PADDY FARMERS IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THAILAND By KALLIKA TARAKA Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2012 © COPYRIGHT UPM Abstract of thesis presented to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND ENVIRONMENT-RELATED PRACTICES ON TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF PADDY FARMERS IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THAILAND By KALLIKA TARAKA September 2012 Chairman: Ismail Bin Abd. Latif, PhD Faculty: Agriculture Rice is among the cereals that share a leading role as important food sources for mankind. It is not only a staple food for a large part of the world population but also a main cash crop in the Thai economy. Of the total 24.86 million households in the Thai agriculture sector, 3.71 million represented paddy farmers. (Office of Agricultural Economics, 2010) Rice production in Thailand has increased over the past decade due mainly to the expansion of planting areas. However, the last few years saw a decline in planting areas and yields from 11.23 million hectares in 2007 to 11.10 million hectares in 2009. This could be attributable to the planting of energy crops and other cash crops in place of paddy. The high cost of inputs was ii © COPYRIGHT UPM another important problem confronting Thai farmers. As a result, the average yield in Thailand amounts to 2.88 metric tons per hectare, a comparatively lower capacity within each variety and among other rice producing countries. The objective of this study is to investigate technical efficiency and identify the factors affecting technical inefficiency of paddy farmers for the crop year 2009/2010 in the Central region of Thailand. Data collection was based on stratified random sampling from 384 farmers who used broadcasting method in operating their farms. Collected data was categorized into four sets of variables: 1) production variables, 2) demographic and socioeconomics variables, 3) agricultural extension variables, and 4) environmental variables. Both non-parametric (Data Envelopment Analysis: DEA) and parametric (Stochastic Frontier Analysis: SFA) techniques were applied in the analysis. The former explored the determinants for farm inefficiency through Tobit regression model, and the latter identified the factors influenced by inefficiency effect model by Battese and Coelli (1995). Descriptive statistic results showed that most farms are small-sized of about 4.70 hectares each. Of the total area, 75.30 percent were rented for cultivation. About 77.80 percent of production inputs were procured by credits while the rest were self-financed. Most farmers (77.50 percent) are male of about 51 years old in average. About 77.20 percent of the farmers received only iii © COPYRIGHT UPM compulsory education but had more than 30 years’ experience in rice farming. The technical efficiency level obtained by Data Envelopment Analysis varied between 0.30 to 100 percent. The mean technical efficiency equals to 51.60. This implied that on average, farmers could reduce their input use by 48.40 percent to enhance efficiency level. The empirical finding indicated that there was a positive relationship between farm efficiency and family labor as well as farm size. Stochastic Frontier Analysis ranged between 49.99 to 97.17 percent with the mean efficiency at 85.32 percent. Although 76.30 percent of farms showed their performances above 80 percent, hypotheses testing indicated that there was still inefficiency effect in rice farming. The factors which statistically and significantly contributed to higher performance were gender, farming experiences, land tenure, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and cropping intensity. In conclusion, technical efficiency can be different depending on which estimated techniques were used. Both DEA and SFA affirmed that there is an inefficiency effect on rice farming. However, farm efficiency level can be improved by reducing input use and eliminating the factors affecting technical inefficiency. Farmer should gain knowledge on Good Agricultural iv © COPYRIGHT UPM Practices (GAP) and adopt the GAP in their farm activities. Accessible linkages to extension officers should also be made available for continuous exchange of knowledge and experience, especially between successful farmers to general farmers in order to improve farm efficiency. In irrigated areas, government support should be provided to ensure that farmers can increase their planting capacity to more than once a year, and to use certified seeds which are high-yielding varieties in order to enhance their income and contribute to the overall rice production. v © COPYRIGHT UPM Abstrak tesis yang dikemukakan kepada Senat Universiti Putra Malaysia sebagai memenuhi keperluan untuk ijazah Doktor Falsafah KESAN PENGEMBANGAN PERTANIAN DAN AMALAN BERKAITAN PERSEKITARAN TERHADAP KECEKAPAN TEKNIKAL PETANI PADI DI KAWASAN TENGAH THAILAND Oleh KALLIKA TARAKA September 2012 Pengerusi: Ismail Bin Abd. Latif, PhD Fakulti: Pertanian Beras ialah bahan makanan bijirin, yang berperanan utama sebagai sumber makanan untuk manusia. Ia bukan hanya merupakan makanan ruji bagi sebahagian besar penduduk dunia, tetapi juga merupakan tanaman utama dalam ekonomi Thailand. Daripada 24.86 juta isi rumah dalam sektor pertanian Thailand, sebanyak 3.71 juta merupakan petani padi. (Pejabat Ekonomi Pertanian, 2010) Pengeluaran padi di Thailand telah meningkat sejak beberapa dekad yang lalu disebabkan peningkatan keluasan tanaman padi. Namun, sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, keluasan sawah padi dan hasil padi telah mula menurun dari 11.23 juta hektar pada tahun 2007 kepada 11.10 juta hektar pada tahun 2009. Ini mungkin disebabkan pertukaran penanaman vi © COPYRIGHT UPM padi kepada tanaman lain. Kos input yang tinggi juga merupakan masalah utama yang dihadapi petani. Akibatnya hasil purata di Thailand ialah 2.88 tan per hektar yang jauh lebih rendah, jika dibandingkan dengan kapasiti pengeluaran setiap varieti padi lain dan juga kadar hasil negara pengeluar padi yang lain. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk mengetahui kecekapan teknikal dan menentukan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi ketidakcekapan teknikal petani padi untuk musim tanaman 2009/2010 di kawasan tengah Thailand. Sampel data dikutip secara rawak berstrata daripada 384 orang petani padi yang mengamalkan kaedah tabur terus. Maklumat yang dikumpulkan terdiri daripada empat kategori; 1) hasil pengeluaran, 2) demografi dan sosio ekonomi, 3) pengembangan pertanian, dan 4) faktor alam sekitar. Kedua dua kaedah Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) dan Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) telah diaplikasikan untuk mengkaji tahap kecekapan teknikal. Kaedah DEA menggunkan Model Tobit dalam penentuan faktor ketidak kecekapan manakala SFA menggunakan model Battese dan Coelli (1995). Keputusan analisis deskriptif menunjukan kebanyakan kawasan sawah padi adalah bersaiz kecil iaitu 4.70 hektar dan 75.30 peratus petani menyewa tapak sawah padi. Sebanyak 77.80 peratus bahan input dibeli dengan kredit manakala bakinya menggunakan dana sendiri. Kebanyakan petani ialah lelaki sebanyak 77.50 peratus, dan umur purata ialah 51 tahun. Hanya 77.20 vii © COPYRIGHT UPM peratus petani menerima pendidikan formal, tetapi mereka berpengalaman menanam padi selama 30 tahun. Peringkat kecekapan teknikal yang didapati mengikut model DEA ialah antara 30-100 peratus. Kecekapan teknikal purata bersamaan 51.60 peratus. Ini menunjukkan bahawa petani boleh mengurangkan penggunaan input yang digunakan sebanyak 48.40 peratus untuk memastikan tahap kecekapan tersebut. Keputusan empirik pula menunjukkan pertalian positif antara kecekapan ladang dengan buruh keluarga dan saiz ladang. Tahap kecekapan teknikal ialah antara 49.69 hingga 97.17 peratus dengan nilai purata tahap kecekapan teknikal sebanyak 85.32 peratus. Walaupun, 76.30 peratus petani mempungai kecekapan teknikal melebihi 80 peratus, ujian hipotesis tetap menunjukkan masih terdapat ketidakcekapan di sektor ini. Faktor yang menggalakkan kecekapan ialah jantina, pengalaman, Amalan Pertanian Baik dan intensiti penanaman. Sebagai kesimpulan, anggaran kecekapan teknikal menunjukkan terdapatnya ketidakcekapan dalam penanaman padi. Walaubagaimanapun, tahap kecekapan boleh ditingkatkan dengan pengurangan penggunaan input dan mengelakkan faktor yang mempengaruhi ketidakcekapan teknikal. Petani yang cekap patut memahami dan mengaplikasi amalan pertanian yang baik dalam aktiviti pertanian mereka. Pertalian yang rapat viii © COPYRIGHT UPM