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Abstract
This paper reports on an analysis of technical efficiency and varietal differences in pistachio
production in Iran. A random sample of 475 farmers was selected from the province of
Kerman in 2003 and 2004. In this study, farmers are classified into three groups according to
the variety of tree they planted. The three main varieties of pistachio trees planted are Kalleh-
Ghuchi, Fandoghi and Akbari.
The technical efficiency indices are computed using three approaches. First, a standard
stochastic production frontier was employed using pooled data. Secondly, stochastic frontier
production functions were estimated for each variety (separately). Lastly, the meta-frontier
approach was used because production varieties and technologies are expected to differ
between the three varieties. Use of this method enabled technical efficiency scores to be
corrected by the coefficient of the variety-technology gap ratio (VTGR). Estimates of the
frontier were obtained assuming a translog functional form.
Results indicate that the mean values of technical efficiency in 2003 and 2004 for the pooled
frontier, variety group frontiers and meta-frontier across all data are 54 per cent, 55 per cent
and 62 per cent, respectively. The mean value of VTGR in 2003 and 2004 varies from 0.58
for the Kalleh-Ghuchi variety to 0.68 for the Fandoghi variety. These results show the
importance of taking into account the differences in frontiers imposed by different tree
varieties.