Abstract

COLIN CASTILLO, Sergio; AGUILAR BENITEZ, Ismael  and  MESA JURADO, María Azahar. Exploring the technical efficiency of agricultural production in three regions of Mexico. Nóesis, Rev. cienc. soc. [online]. 2024, vol.33, n.66, pp.21-38.  Epub Nov 25, 2024. ISSN 2395-8669.  https://doi.org/10.20983/noesis.2024.2.2.

This work assesses the technical efficiency (TE) in agricultural production under irrigation of corn, alfalfa, sorghum, and plantain; the analysis is conducted for three hydrological subregions of Mexico: Río San Juan (north), Valley of Mexico (center) and Valle Bajo de Grijalva (South). The measurement was carried out by agricultural cycle (spring-summer, autumn-winter and perennial), and by land size. We use stochastic frontier analysis to corroborate whether the farmer’s skills favor efficiency, with a production function that relates irrigated land as a basic element, and a set of explanatory socioeconomic variables. Despite limitations in the data, the results contribute to the knowledge of TE in Mexican agriculture. Indirectly, the contribution of irrigation is recognized, so identifying their economic relevance could help define strategies to improve agricultural production and support water management in agriculture.

Keywords : Technical efficiency; agricultural production; stochastic frontier analysis; agricultural use of water; hydrological sub region.

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