TECHNICAL AND RESOURCE USAGE EFFICIENCY OF POTATO PRODUCTION IN SOME SELECTED AREAS OF BOGURA DISTRICT IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

In Bangladesh, potatoes are comparable to rice and wheat in terms of nutrients and are easily assimilated. The environment is ideal for potato growing, with plenty of sunshine, well-fertilized soil, and adequate moisture content. This study investigates the socioeconomic aspects of potato farming, profitability, technical efficiency, resource efficiency, and recommendations for aiming to improve resource efficiency. This study focuses on the potato cultivation in six Upazilas in Bogura district: namely Shibganj, Sonatola, Shariakandi, Dhunat, Nandigram, and Kahalu. A multi-sampling technique was employed to select a representative sample of 200 potato farmers. In-person interviews were conducted from December 2022 to January 2023. Profitability is assessed using the profitability equation. To delve deeper into operational efficiency, stochastic frontier analysis is employed, utilizing the Cobb-Douglas function to evaluate technical efficiency. Resource utilization efficiency is scrutinized by calculating the ratio of marginal value product (MVP) to marginal factor cost (MFC), with an ideal ratio of 1. The majority of farmers have 5 to 10 years of experience in potato cultivation, with 80%. The majority of farmers have land holdings ranging from 2 to 3 hectares. Majority of respondents are actively engaged in Farmer Co-operative Societies. A significant number of farmers received training on potato cultivation. The total variable cost for potato production per hectare is Tk 629,253.12 Tk. Fixed costs account for 14.73%. Revenue generated from potato production per hectare is Tk 990,821.09. The gross margin is Tk 361,567.97, and the net return is Tk 252,842.50. The return per taka invested is 1.34 units. The production function reveals that if the expenditure on land preparation for potato production is increased by 1%, the revenue of potato would decrease by 0.099%. The cost of insecticide/pesticide is also negative, indicating that 1% amount is increased, the revenue would decrease by 0.225%. The cost of tillage is positive, indicating that if 1% amount is increased, the revenue would increase by 0.120%. The cost of urea is positive, indicating that if 1% amount is increased, the revenue would increase by 0.051%. The cost of DAP is negative, indicating that if 1% amount is increased, the revenue would decrease by 0.045%. The cost of biofertilizer is also negative, indicating that if 1% amount is increased, the revenue would decrease by 0.075%. The cost of manure is also found negative. Factors such as age, education, family size, distance of NGOs, cooperation societies, experience, and market distance do not significantly affect technical inefficiency in potato farming. The average efficiency is 86.99. Most of the farmers technical efficiency is ranged from 81-90% range. The MVP/MFC ratios indicate excessive use, with hired labor, irrigation, insecticides/pesticides, tillage, urea, TSP, DAP, MOP, biofertilizer, and manure showing significant over-utilization. Overall, the study underscores the importance of technical and resource use efficiency of potato farming in Bangladesh.