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Turkey used to be a leading producer of cotton in the past, but recently cotton production has fallen sharply, while consumption is rising, turning Turkey into a net importer of cotton. In the other hand, in recent years, cotton farmers have used chemical inputs, such as pesticides and fertilizers, in their attempt to increase yields and farm incomes. Studies conducted in Turkey implied that production costs have increased with overuse of pesticides without any effective monitoring procedure. Even with growing demand, many farmers have left cotton production because of increasing costs. Improving efficiency can have a twofold positive effect. First, efficiency gains will enhance the viability of individual farms and the industry as a whole, leading to an improved socio-economic status of rural people in the Turkey. Second, improved efficiency can lead to the conservation of resources, such as water resources, as well as reductions in the use of fertilizers, insecticides and fuel oil, leading to positive impacts on environmental health. Determining the efficiency of cotton farms in Turkey is important for exposing potential opportunities for reducing costs and conserving resources. Therefore, the objective of this study is to measure technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in order to identify opportunities for improving the efficiency of resource use in cotton production with DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) method. The data obtained through face to face interviews with 206 producers selected through stratified sampling method in the 3 regions and 4 provinces with high productions is used. |
