An Impact Evaluation of the Government Grant Programs and Input Efficiency Use in the Production of Greenhouse Tomatoes and Peppers in Kosovo

Determinants of greenhouse tomato and pepper production input efficiency affect a farmer’s decision to contribute to the vegetable sector in Kosovo. This research investigates the non-optimal use of inputs in the production of greenhouse tomatoes and peppers. Two studies were conducted to first measure input efficiency use and then to quantify the impact of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD) grant programs in the production of both crops. The first study applied data envelopment analysis (DEA), and linear and logistic regression to assess factors that influence efficiency in production. The second study used propensity score matching with logistic regression and genetic matching in order to evaluate any impacts, including income differences, between MAFRD grantees and non-grantees. The DEA results suggest that of the seven regions in Kosovo, most of the efficient greenhouse tomato producers were found in Prizren with a mean efficiency of 83 percent. While Prishtina had the most efficient greenhouse pepper producers with a mean efficiency of 99 percent. The logistic regression results with the use of technical efficiency (TE) scores as the dependent variable with a threshold produced different results to the linear regression. For example, estimates were more statistically significant under linear regression. The second study using matching techniques demonstrated that greenhouse farmers with higher yields and small total greenhouse areas were more likely to participate in the government’s grant program. The analysis revealed that MAFRD greenhouse tomato grantees compared to the non-grantees may make additionally an estimated of 1,777 euros. Insignificant estimate results were registered for the sample of greenhouse pepper farmers. Overall, the first study demonstrated that depending on the characteristics of the farms, factors related to production efficiency may affect input efficiency use. The second study suggested that a quality matching of the greenhouse tomato farmers could be achieved. However, only a partial matching was obtained among greenhouse pepper farmers

Bootstrapped input efficiency use of specialized potato production in Kosovo

Although Kosovo’s agriculture initiatives have allowed for opportunities to spur vegetable production, little has been done to address how efficient are farmers at using inputs. The state of input efficiency in growing potatoes is examined in the study using farm survey data. There is also a comparison of potato yields as a measure of productivity with different countries in Southeast Europe and with some emphasis on input use. After accounting for suspected bias with the bootstrap input-oriented model, input efficiency ranged from 0.39-0.91 with an average of 0.73. Depending on the farm, a naive model would induce a bias of 0.04-0.17 in input efficiency use. This bias can vary with sample size. Additionally, the findings suggest an encouraging input efficiency advantage for farmers who care about their soil quality as they practice potato production. One policy implication of the results suggests further input use decreases because the sampled farms are found to operate under decreasing returns to scale

Assessing government grants: evidence from greenhouse tomato and pepper farmers in Kosovo

Genetic matching with an evolutionary algorithm was applied to evaluate the impact of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD) grant programs to support greenhouse vegetable production in Kosovo. The primary contribution of the paper is to assess whether grants have an impact on the farmers’ gross seasonal revenue after matching similar grantees to non-grantees. The findings showed that greenhouse tomato grantees make 2,151.80 euros more per growing season in comparison to the non-grantees (95 % confidence interval -324.71 to 4,628.31 euros). Similarly, greenhouse pepper grantees make 2,866.69 euros more per growing season compared to non-grantees (95 % confidence interval 446.42 to 5,286.96 euros). The study identified farmers’ education and region as important matching variables which may be of interest to policy researchers in Kosovo.</p

Exploring the Relationship Between Crop Rotations, Crop Insurance, Market Prices, and Crop Yields: Evidence from Three Studies in Saskatchewan

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Evaluating Greenhouse Tomato and Pepper Input Efficiency Use in Kosovo

Determinants of vegetable production input efficiency affect a Kosovar farmer&rsquo;s decision to contribute to the agricultural sector. This study evaluates the input efficiency of greenhouse tomato and pepper farms in Kosovo. Using data collected from farm surveys, we conducted an input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) to empirically assess input efficiency. Second, linear regression analysis was used to investigate what farm variables predict greenhouse tomato and pepper technical efficiency (TE). The DEA results indicated that, among the seven regions in Kosovo, Prizren emerged as the most efficient greenhouse tomato-producing region with a mean efficiency of 0.83 (on a scale of 0 to 1.00). Prishtina followed with a mean efficiency of 0.80. In the production of greenhouse peppers, Prishtina was the most efficient region with a mean efficiency of 0.99. Ferizaj followed with a mean efficiency of 0.93. Conclusions about farm characteristics that explain differences in efficiency were sensitive to model specification. Nevertheless, depending on the structural and operational characteristics of the greenhouse tomato and pepper farms, there is an opportunity for the technically inefficient farms and regions to improve their use of inputs