Technical, Allocative and Economic Efficiencies of Broiler Farms in Fars Province, Iran: A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approach

Broiler production has great potentials for increasing protein supply in Iran and plays a vital role in economic system of the country. In this study technical, allocative and economic efficiency of broiler production farms in Fars Province was estimated by using Data Envelopment Analysis approach (DEA) method. The results of the study reveal that under constant return to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) specification, on average, the farms technical, allocative and economic efficiencies were 82, 70, 57 per cent and 82, 73, 64% respectively. About 59 farms exhibited increasing returns to scale and 16 farms exhibit decreasing returns to scale. Evaluating factors associated with inefficiency suggests that education, age of farmer, training and being member of broiler producers cooperatives are statistically significant factors associated with technical, allocative and economic inefficiency.