Efficiency Analysis in the Agricultural Sector in Iran: The Case of West Azerbaijan Sunflower Producers

The main purpose of this study is to analyze the efficiency of sunflower production in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. In many previous studies conducted in Iran, efficiency analyzes of agricultural producers were examined with parametric methods in general. However, in this study, performance analysis of sunflower production by using Tobit model with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is known as nonparametric method, is discussed. The technical inefficiency and scale inefficiencies of sunflower producers in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran were 26.2% and 7.5%, respectively and the ineffective production results revealed. The performance of the producers varied between 12.1% and 100%, indicating a large difference in performance.  In addition, some social and economic factors have significant effects on technical inefficiency of sunflower production in West Azerbaijan province of Iran.