Resource-use Efficiency in Watermelon Production in the Patuakhali District, Bangladesh
Bishwajit Sarker *
Department of Agricultural Statistics, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Shankar Majumder
Department of Agricultural Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
Sheikh Mohammad Sayem
Department of Agricultural Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study was conducted in the Patuakhali District of Bangladesh during the production period 2015-2016 to determine the efficiency of resource use in watermelon production. A total of 180 farmers were selected from the study area through multistage stratified random sampling technique and face to face interview was conducted to collect primary data. To estimate the coefficients of the various variables the Cobb-Douglass production function was used and, MVP index was also used to evaluate the efficiency of resource use in the study area. From the regression results, land, seed, labour and pesticide were observed to affect watermelon output significantly (1%) and hence are the determinants of watermelon production. Resource use efficiency analysis revealed that farmers are not efficient in using resources in watermelon production and indicated that land (33.62), seed (10.17), labour (19.32) and fertiliser (1.92), were being underutilised and pesticide was being highly over-utilized in the study area. Therefore, by increasing the use of these resources can maximise profit in watermelon production in Bangladesh.
Keywords: Resource use, efficiency, Cobb-Douglas, watermelon, Bangladesh