ASIF REZA ANIK1; MD. ABDUS SALAM1; SANZIDUR RAHMAN2
1 Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh
2 School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
Anik, A. R., Md. A. Salam and S. Rahman, 2017. Drivers of production and effi ciency of onion cultivation in Bangladesh. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 23 (1): 34–41
The study identifi es the drivers of production and technical effi ciency in onion cultivation based on a survey of 300 farmers from three different major onion growing districts in Bangladesh by applying a stochastic production frontier approach. Results reveal that land is the most important driver of production (elasticity value 0.33) followed by labour (0.24) and seed (0.18). Use of modern seed signifi cantly improves production. A constant returns to scale exists in onion production. The mean technical effi ciency is estimated at 67% implying that output can be increased substantially by 49% by eliminating ineffi ciencies in production. Extension contact, use of recommended dose of fertilizers and non-agricultural income signifi cantly improve technical effi ciency. Effi ciency is signifi cantly higher for owner operators and diversifi ed farms. Policy implications include investments in extension services and land reform measures to improve land ownership in order to boost onion production in Bangladesh.