Effect of aging agricultural labor force on banana production efficiency in Hainan province

This paper utilizes the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to calculate the banana production efficiency of sample farmers in Hainan's major banana-producing counties and cities, analyzing the distribution and variation patterns of banana production technical efficiency in conjunction with the characteristics of banana farmers’ families and production processes. Through regression analysis, it further explores the relationship between agricultural labor force aging and banana production technology scale efficiency, deriving deeper insights into the factors influencing banana farmers’ production technical efficiency. The study reveals that the sample area faces severe population aging, with a 45.3% decline in banana planting area and a 34.5% reduction in output between 2010 and 2020. The average age of banana production decision-makers is 53.43 years, with 74.14% being over 45 years old. Notably, the banana production efficiency of sample farmers was relatively low in 2021, averaging at 0.24. Moreover, the age of decision-makers and the degree of family aging have a significantly negative impact on banana production technical efficiency. In response to these findings, the paper proposes policy recommendations, including improving the rural old-age security system, enhancing banana production mechanization, allocating production factors reasonably, and intensifying the promotion of banana production technologies, to address the impact of agricultural labor force aging on banana production efficiency in Hainan.