178 research outputs found

    Measurement and Sources of Technical Inefficiency in the Tunisian Citrus Growing Sector

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    This paper investigates farm level technical inefficiency of production and its determinants in a sample of 150 citrus producing farms in Tunisia using a stochastic frontier production function approach applied to cross section data. Results indicate that technical efficiency of production in the sample of citrus producing farms investigated ranges from a minimum of 26.84% to a maximum of 97.98% with an average technical efficiency estimate of 86.23%. This suggests that citrus producers may increase their production by as much as 13.77% through more efficient use of production inputs. Further, the estimated coefficients in the technical inefficiency model indicate the positive effect on technical efficiency of the share of productive trees, the agricultural training, irrigation operations and the experience of farmer.Technical Efficiency, stochastic frontier production function, citrus farms, Tunisia, Productivity Analysis,

    Measuring Irrigation Water Efficiency with a Stochastic Production Frontier: An Application for Citrus Producing Farms in Tunisia

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    The objective of this paper is to propose an alternative measure of irrigation water efficiency based on the concept of input- specific technical efficiency, which contracts with measures previously used in the literature. The proposed methodology is applied to a randomly selected sample of 144 citrus growing farms located in Nabeul (Tunisia). A stochastic production frontier approach, based on Battese and Coelli’s (1995) inefficiency effect model, is used to obtain farm-specific estimates of technical and irrigation water efficiency. In addition, a second-stage regression approach is used to identify the factors influencing irrigation water efficiency differentials across citrus growing farms. Results indicate that technical efficiency ranges from a minimum of 12.9% to a maximum of 90.7% with an average estimate of 67.7%. This suggests that citrus producers may increase their production by as much as 32.3% through more efficient use of production inputs. Further, mean irrigation water efficiency is found to be 53%, which is much lower than technical efficiency and also exhibits greater variability ranging from 1.6% to 98.87%. The estimated mean irrigation water efficiency implies that the observed quantity of marketable citrus could have been maintained by using the observed values of other inputs while using 47.0% less of irrigation water. Moreover, the estimated mean irrigation water technical cost efficiency is found to be 70.81% indicating a potential decrease of 29.19% in total cost by adjusting irrigation water to its efficient level. In addition, the vast majority of farms have achieved irrigation water technical cost efficiency greater than 90% (71% of farms). Finally, the analysis of the sources of efficiency differentials among farmers showed that farmer’s age, farm’s size, education level, agricultural training, the share of productive trees and the water disposable perception tend to affect positively the degree of both technical and irrigation water efficiency.Citrus, Efficiency, Tunisia, Water, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

    Block Mixture Model for the Biclustering of Microarray Data

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    This publication is a representation of what appears in the IEEE Digital Libraries.International audienceAn attractive way to make biclustering of genes and conditions is to adopt a Block Mixture Model (BMM). Approaches based on a BMM operate thanks to a Block Expectation Maximization (BEM) algorithm and/or a Block Classification Expectation Maximization (BCEM) one. The drawback of these approaches is their difficulty to choose a good strategy of initialization of the BEM and BCEM algorithms. This paper introduces existing biclustering approaches adopting a BMM and suggests a new fuzzy biclustering one. Our approach enables to choose a good strategy of initialization of the BEM and BCEM algorithms

    Representations and Realization of Written Planning of PSE Teachers in Tunisia

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    Planning is an act of anticipation carried out by the teacher during the pre-active phase to prioritize the pedagogical and didactic teaching approaches. On the other hand, in the teaching field, the teaching-learning situation is also complex to be identified by simple planning. In this study, we seek to explain the influence of gender and the seniority of physical education and sports (PSE) teachers on representations of written lesson planning and its management in the field. We collaborated with 20 PSE teachers and 10 trainee students in initial training in secondary schools. We filmed practical sessions and we carried out two types of interviews with the participants and we analyzed the content of the written plans of the participants in our experiment. Our results show that the professional seniority and the gender of the PSE teacher do not modulate the representations that are made of the written planning of the lesson. However, in practice, the teacher's representations of written planning are not always consistent with their realization on the ground. The difference between teachers' representations of the PSE teacher's written planning and their teaching practices is dependent on the professional seniority and gender of the acting person. The actions of the actor are shaped by the aspects inherent in the learning situation, the actions of the teacher are therefore contextualized

    Le marché de bestiaux du gouvernorat de Sidi Bouzid: un levier de développement rural du Centre tunisien

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    L’élevage ovin est une activité traditionnelle dans toutes les régions de la Tunisie et surtout le Centre et le Sud. Sur le plan national et jusqu'à une date récente seule la viande bovine retenait l'attention des pouvoirs publics et les opérateurs privés. Face aux enjeux actuels de satisfaction des besoins du pays en viandes rouges et la mise à niveau de la filière des ovins, on assiste à un processus de développement du secteur qui connaît une restructuration du cheptel et une intensification de la production en intégrant les cultures fourragères ainsi qu’une mise à niveau des marchés de bestiaux. Dans le gouvernorat de Sidi Bouzid où l’élevage ovin occupe une place de choix dans l’économie régionale, les systèmes de production agricole connaîssent une mutation profonde. Le développement du secteur irrigué et la diversification des systèmes de cultures et d'élevage expliquent la croissance de l’agriculture et le développement de la région. Cette mutation a touché aussi la structure du marché et les circuits de commercialisation des animaux. La commercialisation des viandes rouges est étroitement liée à l’élevage de bétail qui reste encore très dépendant des conditions climatiques et des politiques suivies. Dans la région de Sidi Bouzid, on dénombre des circuits différenciés de distribution des animaux et la concurrence est relativement forte. La performance du marché est caractérisée par la faiblesse des marges bénéficiaires dégagées par les éleveurs et les bouchers en comparaison avec les intermédiaires. Ce travail cherche à analyser la structure, les comportements des acteurs et la performance du marché de bestiaux de Sidi Bouzid –l’un des plus grands et connus des marchés du pays- et son rôle dans la dynamique de la filière ovine et dans le développement régional.Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

    L'attribution de terres domaniales irriguées aux jeunes ruraux en Tunisie : création d'emplois durables ou mise en place d'exploitations non viables ?

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    Le chômage des jeunes, particulièrement dans les zones rurales, est un problème que l'État tunisien cherche à résoudre depuis l'Indépendance. Il a ainsi mobilisé une partie des terres domaniales irriguées pour installer des jeunes. À Gaâfour, 98 jeunes agriculteurs ont reçu des lots irrigués de 2,5 ou 3,5 ha. Les résultats montrent que 50 % d'entre eux n'exploitent pas directement leur lot et le cèdent en location. Bien qu'illégales, ces sous-locations ont permis d'assurer la continuité de la production et de valoriser les aménagements hydro-agricoles. Elles ont aussi permis de créer de l'emploi pour d'autres exploitants, qui sont dans leur majorité également des jeunes. Elles ont enfin permis à d'autres attributaires d'étendre leur exploitation et de la rendre viable. Pour que l'attribution de terres domaniales à des jeunes puisse être une source d'emploi plus efficace, les conditions d'attribution devraient être révisées et les services de l'État devraient être plus actifs en termes d'accompagnement technique et financier et de suivi
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