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

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

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,

CPU-Based Data Acquisition in Assessing the Impact of Inclination on Solar Panels

A data logging system has been deployed to monitor two solar panels positioned at distinct inclination angles. This system records crucial parameters such as current, voltage, solar radiation incident on the panels, and panel temperatures. Comprising an Arduino microcontroller, a current sensor, a current and voltage sensor, and a Memory Card, the data logger captures and stores data in .txt files at 20-minute intervals. Employing a real-time acquisition system, the obtained results indicate that the data logger effectively archives and presents a wealth of information about solar panel characteristics. Notably, the data reveals superior performance of the solar panels at a 35-degree tilt angle compared to 32 degrees during April in the Ouargla region of Algeria

Date Palm Value Chain Analysis and Marketing Opportunities for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries

In order to develop a sustainable date palm production system in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of the Arabian Peninsula, an analysis of the date value chain in these countries was undertaken. Through the mapping of the chain, the overall objective was to identify the processes where values are created and how they are distributed among stakeholders along the entire date palm value chain. The method used in this analysis was based on an assessment of the data gathered from the multi-stakeholder surveys implemented in the three case studies of the GCC countries: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Oman, and Kuwait. The empirical findings reveal several problems and constraints that might affect the future of the GCC date palm sector. Therefore, development of a competitive supply date palm chain (both market and agribusiness development) could provide a greater contribution to the GCC economy if producers paid more attention to marketing of this very important food commodity. Hence, date palm production is no longer a way of life but nowadays is considered as an investment option and source of revenues for many stakeholders if the GCC region

The Impact of Inflation on Bank Financial Performance: Case of Tunisia

Inflation is when the price of the most goods and services continue rising upward. This situation may cause the standard of living cost falls because, we have to spend a lot of money to get the same amount of goods and services that we bought previous time. On the other hand bank financial performance is important and is measured by several indictors . In this study we use a methodology of panel data in the sample of 11 banks in Tunisia over the period of ( 2000—2018). We found that inflation has positive impact on ROA  ( return on assets) and negative impact on ROE ( return on equity ) . Keywords: Inflation, bank financial performance, panel data, ROA, ROE DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-18-11 Publication date:September 30th 202

Comparative analysis of the Leishmania infantum-specific antibody repertoires and the autoantibody repertoires between asymptomatic and symptomatic dogs

International audienceLeishmania (L.) infantum-infected dogs may present with a large range of clinical signs, from apparently healthy with no or few (asymptomatic dogs, AD) to several clinical signs indicators of active infection (symptomatic dogs, SD). The present study is justified by the conflicting reports describing that either L. infantum-specific IgG1 or IgG2 antibodies may be used as isotype marker of the asymptomatic infection status and by the lack, to our knowledge, of previous analysis of the IgG sub-classes autoantibody repertoires of Leishmania-infected dogs. On the basis of clinical evaluation and laboratory testing (IFAT, parasitological examination of Giemsa-stained lymph node smears, L. infantum antigens-ELISA of total (Tot) IgG), 131 dogs were categorized as SD, asymptomatic seronegative (AND) or seropositive dogs (APD) from surrounding areas, and as negative control dogs (CTD). ELISA based on leishmanial native antigens or recombinant LACK and LeIF proteins showed that SD produce higher levels of specific Tot IgG, IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies than APD, and that for both clinical stages, the antibody titers of IgG2 isotype were constantly higher than those of the IgG1. The seroprevalences of Tot IgG, IgG2 did not differ between APD and SD groups (97 and 97% in SD; 100 and 96% in APD, respectively) whereas that of IgG1 was slightly lower in SD (88% of APD versus 82% of SD). The autoantibody repertoires were analyzed by ELISA using HEp-2 extracts, ds-DNA, human albumin and transferrin as self-antigens and by Western blot using HEp-2 proteins. ELISA results' indicated that APD develop higher levels of IgG1 autoantibodies, and higher seroprevalence (50% and 26% in APD and SD, respectively), contrasting with lower levels and seroprevalences of Tot IgG and IgG2 (43 and 68% for APD; 100 and 74% for SD). Interestingly, SD showed a stronger IgG1 and particularly IgG2 reactivity with transferrin, an iron-binding protein, than APD and AND. Western blotting experiments produced heterogeneous IgG1 and IgG2 inter- and intra-groups reactivity profiles towards HEp-2 proteins, to identify a specific antigenic profile. Generated data from competitive HEp-2-ELISA using leishmanial antigens as inhibitors were in favor that IgG1 antibodies are predominantly autoantibodies to self-antigens in APD whereas they are mainly cross-reactive (Leishmania/self-antigens) in SD

Contribution of geostatistics to predict bird diversity in Gouraya National Park (Algeria)

The present study emphasizes the contribution of geostatistics techniques in ornithology. We used kriging interpolation to predict avian diversity in the Gouraya National Park. The punctual index abundance method was used to census birds based on a grid network (250 m x 250 m). An exploratory analysis with the variogram has characterized the spatial variability of studied variable. The ordinary kriging was used to realize diversity map prediction which shows the spatial behaviour trend of this variable. The standard deviation map has given an assessment of the quality of the estimate. The diversity map prediction is thus an important tool for decision support directly applicable to the management and conservation of birds in Gouraya National ParkLa présente étude a fait ressortir l'apport des techniques géostatistiques en ornithologie. Pour ce faire, nous avons utilisé l'interpolation par krigeage pour prédire la diversité avienne sur l'ensemble du territoire du parc national de Gouraya (Algérie). La méthode des indices ponctuels d'abondance a été utilisée pour le dénombrement des oiseaux sur la base d'un réseau à maille carrée de 250 m x 250 m. Une analyse exploratoire par le biais du variogramme a permis la modélisation du comportement spatial de la variable étudiée. Le krigeage ordinaire a été retenu pour la réalisation de la carte de prédiction de la diversité avienne. Cette carte fait apparaître les zones à forte diversité avienne. La carte des écarts-types a donné une appréciation de la qualité de l'estimation. La carte de prédiction de la diversité avienne constitue ainsi un outil important d'aide à la décision directement applicable en matière de gestion et de conservation de l'avifaune du parc national de Gouraya

Une colite à CMV révélant un lupus érythémateux systémique

Le cytomégalovirus (CMV) est responsable d’infections souvent asymptomatiques chez les immunocompétents mais également d’infections graves chez les immunodéprimés notamment chez les patients lupiques. La réactivation du CMV au cours du lupus est une complication fréquente mais rarement inaugurale. Nous rapportons l’observation d’un patient ayant présenté une colite à CMV révélatrice d’un lupus érythémateux systémique. Le diagnostic a été retenu sur les données sérologiques, de la biopsie colique et la bonne évolution après un traitement par ganciclovir

Time-Delay Systems: Modeling, Analysis, Estimation, Control, and Synchronization

Editorial to cover the S