Rice Farmers’ Production Efficiency under Abiotic Stresses: the Case of Bangladesh

More than half of the total extremely poor people in the world live in the major rice producing areas of Asia and Africa; rice is their staple. Enhancement of technical efficiency in producing rice in major rice producing countries of Asia and Africa can have tremendous positive impact on income of farm household, alleviate poverty and improve the livelihoods of millions in these countries. Using Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data from Bangladesh and stochastic frontier production function estimation approach, we examine the technical efficiency of the rice farmers in Bangladesh. Further, we determine the factors that affect the level of efficiency at the farm level. Results indicate that while drought leads to a significant loss in rice production, floods is a major source of technical inefficiency in rice farming in Bangladesh. We also found that the extent of basic infrastructure can also affect rice production efficiency. Policies are suggested based on the empirical findings.