TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the determinants of technical efficiency (TE) in dairy farms located in the South of Brazil, aiming for a better understanding of the topic for academics, dairy farmers and policymakers to improve the productivity and competitiveness of dairy farms.Design/methodology/approach This study was developed using a two-stage approach. Data envelopment analysis was used to estimate the TE level and regression models to understand the factors affecting TE in dairy farms. The sample size is 253 dairy farms in the South of Brazil.Findings The variation in the mean TE indexes reported in the literature can be explained by the attributes of the analysed studies, including the education of the farm operator, farm size (number of cows and milk), feed and labour costs, and use of services. Additionally, the results suggest that dairy farmers in the sample could increase milk output by 50.1 per cent (level of inefficiency) on average if they improve their TE.Originality/value This study makes three important contributions: first, it formulates hypotheses from the previous literature’s propositions on the estimation of TE in dairy farms; second, it tests the hypotheses in an empirical study to understand the main factors affecting the TE in dairy farms of the selected municipalities in the South of Brazil; and third, it compares previous findings on the determinants of TE in dairy farms serving different stakeholders, such as researchers, farmers and government representatives, to improve the productivity and competitiveness of dairy farms.
VL  - 68
IS  - 2
SN  - 1741-0401
DO  - 10.1108/IJPPM-06-2018-0234
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-06-2018-0234
AU  - Mareth Taciana
AU  - Scavarda Luiz Felipe
AU  - Thomé Antonio Marcio Tavares
AU  - Cyrino Oliveira Fernando Luiz
AU  - Alves Tiago Wickstrom
PY  - 2019
Y1  - 2019/01/01
TI  - Analysing the determinants of technical efficiency of dairy farms in Brazil
T2  - International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 464
EP  - 481
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -