Muharminto
Description
This study attempts to highlight and quantify the major factors
affecting yields on small rubber farms in Kabupaten LIOT and MURA, South
Sumatra, and to indicate the adjustments which should be made to secure a
better performance.
The input-output data obtained from a 1977/1978 survey of smallholder
rubber farms in South Sumatra is the basis of this study. An
unrestricted form of the Cobb-Douglas production function is fitted to
LIOT and MURA data separately. The function is estimated by...[Show more] two different
techniques, Ordinary Least Square and Linear Programming. The function
estimated by the first approach is interpreted as the average production
function, and expresses the output level which an average farm can obtain
from a given set of inputs. The function estimated by the second approach
is interpreted as the best or frontier production function, which expresses
the maximum output level that can be obtained by only the most efficient
farms from the combination of factors at the existing state of technical
knowledge. The major findings with regard to the production coefficients
are as follows:
(1) There are decreasing returns to scale in the production of
Kabupaten LIOT and increasing returns to scale in the
production of Kabupaten MURA. (2) For both regions, the frontier function has shifted
neutrally outwards from the average function.
In general for all holdings, the number of trees in tapping per hectare
seems to be an important positive influence on yield. Too deep a tapping
cut appears to have substantial negative effects, especially with younger
trees, whilst for older trees increasing the number of cuts and maintaining the
tapping panels in good condition seems to be a big advantage. The estimated production functions are used to calculate the technical
efficiency of the individual farms. For each region, two different ratings
of technical efficiency are derived from the average and the frontier
production functions. The efficiency ratings are calculated as the ratios
of observed output to the level of output estimated from the production
functions. From this part of the analysis it is found that there is no
significant difference in the efficiency ratings that are derived from the
average or the frontier production functions.
On the basis of average production function, the marginal productivities
of factors of production are calculated for both the regions separately.
An attempt is made to examine the factors which explain the difference
between the maximum possible yield and the actual yield of both regions.
The results show that in LIOT, girth is the factor responsible for reducing
the extent of yield variation from the maximum possible yield, whereas depth of
cut and age of trees are factors significantly widening farmer yield gap.
For Kabupaten MURA, the number of cuts, condition of the tapping panel, depth of
cut and education are the factors responsible for reducing the extent of yield
variation from the maximum possible yield, whereas.years since tapping commenced
and farm size are contributing more to the difference.
Apart from their much higher rubber yields, the frontier farms in
Kabupaten LIOT have bigger girthed trees and more trees in tapping. In
Kabupaten MURA, they have a larger productive area surveyed, younger trees and
apply more labour in maintenance. Size of farm may well have an important influence on technical efficiency
and yield, but this facet must be investigated further.
It is considered that many of the less technically efficient farms
could be encouraged to improve their position if greater assistance could
be given to them by extension services.
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