Investigation of Factors Influencing the Technical Efficiency of Agricultural Producers Participating in Farm Credit Programs: The Case of Greece

Abstract

This study investigates a number of factors influencing technical efficiency of Greek farms participating in the 1994 European Union (EU) farm credit program. Technical efficiency measures are obtained within the framework of a parametric stochastic frontier. Factors showing a positive effect on technical efficiency are value of liabilities, number of hours of mechanical operation, large land size, and rental land, whereas those showing a negative effect are value of EU product subsidies, value of off-farm family income, and hired labor. The value of investments incurred by farms because of their participation in the 1994 farm credit program does not show any significant effect on technical efficiency. The predicted levels of technical efficiency indicate that the average technical efficiency of farms 3 years after participating in the 1994 farm credit program is lower than the average technical efficiency of the same farms the year before participating in the program. Thus, the program has failed to increase the efficiency of farms.farm credit program, stochastic frontier, technical efficiency, Q10, Q12, Q16, Q19,