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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to measure the technical efficiency of farms on the basis of
data envelopment analysis (DEA) and to present an analytical method of farm diagnosis using
measurements obtained for melon farms in Japan. The paper first describes the objectives of melon farms
operating under the marketing strategy of agricultural cooperatives and explains DEA, which measures
the technical efficiency of such farms. It then uses this analytical method to measure technical efficiency
for each farm and demonstrates h6w technical efficiency is dependent not only on the management
performance of production of melons and other crops but also on the number of full-time farm workers.
In addition, the effect of management perlormance on technical efficiency is analysed quantitatively for
each size group of full-time farm workers. The paper also illustrates how DEA can be used for farm
diagnosis when the management performance of inefficient melon farms is compared with that of efficient
farms. DEA is able to indicate some efficient farms as the optimum solution that should be treated as the
model for the improved management of inefficient farms. Data are drawn from a sample of 91 melon
farms in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.