Heterogeneous determinants of improvement potential in vetch production: The case of Samsun province in Türkiye
Open Agriculture, cilt.11, sa.1, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 11 Sayı: 1
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1515/opag-2025-0507
- Dergi Adı: Open Agriculture
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
- Anahtar Kelimeler: bootstrap DEA, improvement potential, quantile regression, vetch production, technical efficiency, Q1, Q5
- Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The province of Samsun is a leader in Türkiye in terms of production volume of vetch, a plant that plays an important role in animal feed production. The study aims to determine the technical efficiency levels of vetch producers operating in the province of Samsun and to examine the factors associated with different levels of improvement potential. The study's material consists of primary data obtained from face-to-face surveys conducted with 116 vetch producers selected by simple random sampling in the 2025 production year. Technical efficiency scores were calculated using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) framework focused on inputs under the assumption of variable returns. To eliminate sampling bias, the Simar-Wilson bootstrap DEA approach was applied, and bias-corrected efficiency scores with 95% confidence intervals were obtained. Based on these values, the improvement potential for each farm was calculated. Due to the heterogeneous and right-skewed distribution of improvement potential, the quantile regression method was used to analyze the factors affecting improvement potentials. The findings reveal that the determinants of improvement potential show significant heterogeneity across farms. The use of agricultural credit significantly increases efficiency only in farms with high and critical levels of improvement potential. The effects of membership in farmer organizations and expert visits during the production period are particularly concentrated in the upper quantiles; this indicates that these mechanisms play a corrective role for farms operating at low levels of productivity.