Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3339-3351 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Journal of integrative agriculture |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Early online date | 19 Oct 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2021 |
Abstract
The Vietnamese agricultural sector has experienced a dramatic structural change based on increased specialization in rice cultivation. However, small-scale rice-farmers have continued to grow multiple crops, especially in less developed provinces. While the literature advocates crop diversification for reasons of both economic and ecological sustainability, there lacks empirical evidence as to whether crop diversification brings efficiency and productivity gains to small farms. The present study is the first applications of the input-oriented stochastic distance function approach in estimating scale and scope economies using data of multi-crop farming households in Vietnam. We find strong evidence of product-specific economies of scale. Scope economies are also present for rice, vegetable, and other annual crop production. This suggests that crop diversification enhances efficiency and productivity. However, there still exists significant technical inefficiency in crop production, indicating opportunities to expand farm output at the existing level of inputs and technologies. More specifically, our empirical results indicate that it is desirable to expand vegetable and other annual crop production in mountainous areas while rice cultivation can be further expanded in delta and coastal regions.
Keywords
- economies of scale, economies of scope, input distance function, product-specific, stochastic frontier
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Food Science
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Biochemistry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecology
- veterinary(all)
- Food Animals
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Agronomy and Crop Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Plant Science
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In: Journal of integrative agriculture, Vol. 20, No. 12, 12.2021, p. 3339-3351.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Scale and scope economies in small household rice farming in Vietnam
AU - HOANG, Viet Ngu
AU - NGUYEN, Trung Thanh
AU - WILSON, Clevo
AU - HO, Thong Quoc
AU - KHANAL, Uttam
N1 - Funding Information: We thank the farmers in Vietnam for their support and cooperation. Support from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, the German Research Foundation (DFG, funding No. DFG-FOR 756/1&2) and our colleagues at the Leibniz University Hannover for data collection within the research project “Thailand–Vietnam Socioeconomic Panel (www.tvsep.de)” is highly appreciated. The constructive comments and suggestions from two anonymous reviewers and an editor are greatly acknowledged. The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access Fund of Leibniz University Hannover, Germany.
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - The Vietnamese agricultural sector has experienced a dramatic structural change based on increased specialization in rice cultivation. However, small-scale rice-farmers have continued to grow multiple crops, especially in less developed provinces. While the literature advocates crop diversification for reasons of both economic and ecological sustainability, there lacks empirical evidence as to whether crop diversification brings efficiency and productivity gains to small farms. The present study is the first applications of the input-oriented stochastic distance function approach in estimating scale and scope economies using data of multi-crop farming households in Vietnam. We find strong evidence of product-specific economies of scale. Scope economies are also present for rice, vegetable, and other annual crop production. This suggests that crop diversification enhances efficiency and productivity. However, there still exists significant technical inefficiency in crop production, indicating opportunities to expand farm output at the existing level of inputs and technologies. More specifically, our empirical results indicate that it is desirable to expand vegetable and other annual crop production in mountainous areas while rice cultivation can be further expanded in delta and coastal regions.
AB - The Vietnamese agricultural sector has experienced a dramatic structural change based on increased specialization in rice cultivation. However, small-scale rice-farmers have continued to grow multiple crops, especially in less developed provinces. While the literature advocates crop diversification for reasons of both economic and ecological sustainability, there lacks empirical evidence as to whether crop diversification brings efficiency and productivity gains to small farms. The present study is the first applications of the input-oriented stochastic distance function approach in estimating scale and scope economies using data of multi-crop farming households in Vietnam. We find strong evidence of product-specific economies of scale. Scope economies are also present for rice, vegetable, and other annual crop production. This suggests that crop diversification enhances efficiency and productivity. However, there still exists significant technical inefficiency in crop production, indicating opportunities to expand farm output at the existing level of inputs and technologies. More specifically, our empirical results indicate that it is desirable to expand vegetable and other annual crop production in mountainous areas while rice cultivation can be further expanded in delta and coastal regions.
KW - economies of scale
KW - economies of scope
KW - input distance function
KW - product-specific
KW - stochastic frontier
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117362737&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S2095-3119(21)63612-2
DO - 10.1016/S2095-3119(21)63612-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85117362737
VL - 20
SP - 3339
EP - 3351
JO - Journal of integrative agriculture
JF - Journal of integrative agriculture
SN - 2095-3119
IS - 12
ER -