Background: Johor is the main pineapple producer in Malaysia. However, this state is still facing the issue of low productivity where the productivity level is 24 Mt/ha compared to the national target which is at 40 Mt/ha (MPIB, 2015). The low productivity is caused by the existence of inefficient smallholders operating below the economics of scale. Objective: Thus, there is an urgent need to study the productivity status by investigating their technical efficiency levels. The data collected from 88 respondents were analyzed using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), focusing on Variable Return to Scale (VRS) with the assumption of output-oriented. Results: The findings suggested that smallholders are inefficient with VRS Technical Efficiency (TE) score ranging from 0.50 to 1.00. Variables that are affecting the smallholder’s technical efficiency are age, education level, land size, labor utilization, seeds density, chemical application and fertilizer while the farming experience had a negative effect on the technical efficiency. Conclusion: These findings could be used as a baseline data by the relevant parties or agencies involve in improving the pineapple farmers’ productivity and technical efficiency.
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In-Text Citation: (Rahim & Othman, 2019)
To Cite this Article: Rahim, S. N. S. M., & Othman, N. (2019). Technical Efficiency of the Pineapple Smallholders at Johor: Data Envelopment Analysis. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(3), 746–755.
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