An empirical study of the patterns and sources of technical inefficiency in traditional and HYV rice cultivation in Bangladesh

Production frontiers are estimated from survey data from a village in Bangladesh to examine the technical efficiency of farmers in the cultivation of traditional and high-yielding-variety (HYV) rice. In spite of much higher yields, HYV cultivation displays lower technical efficiency and much greater variability in efficiency Also, efficiency is not independent of household endowments in that small farmers, and/or those with the least education and growing experience, are least efficient. Policies that promoted education and provided smaller farmers with greater access to public services would promote efficiency and equity, and help reduce HYV yield variability.