Agricultural Economics Research Review
  • Year: 2020
  • Volume: 33
  • Issue: 1

Technical efficiency of dairy farmers in Bihar, India: status and determinants

Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, New Delhi-110 016, India

*Corresponding author: dhiraj.in@gmail.com

JEL codes C01, Q12, Q13

Abstract

Bihar's share of the total milk produced in India rose from 3.2% in 2001–02 to 5.2% in 2018– 19, but the productivity of its dairy sector is lower than the national average. The low economies of scale, lack of institutional support, and dominance of small and marginal farmers have constrained the sector's efficiency. The technical efficiency of dairy farmers—determined by a farmer's herd size, the size of their holding of cultivated land, education, and experience— would be improved by skills development and technology transfer.

Keywords

Dairy farmers, small farmers, technical efficiency, determinants, market access