Examining the technical efficiency of rice producers in Bangladesh

Despite record national output in the early years of this decade there is widespreadconcern that rice yields in Bangladesh are below those attainable, and that given futurepopulation growth this may constrain achievement of food security and poverty reductionobjectives. A frequent response to this problem is that farmers could close the gap betweenactual farm yields and potential yields identified in field trials if farmers who are technicallyinefficient could improve their current farming practices. This paper estimates and explainstechnical efficiency for a sample of rice farmers in Bangladesh employing Bayesian methods.The results provide insights into the distribution of technical efficiency and identify importantinfluences on rice growing.