Economic Analysis of the Impact of Farm Size and Farming Techniques on Improving Production Efficiency and Economic Returns for Sugar Beet Crops in El-Minya Governorate

This research aims to conduct an economic analysis of the impact of farm size and farming techniques on improving production efficiency and economic returns for sugar beet crops in El-Minya Governorate. The study analyzed the structure of production cost items to estimate the economic efficiency indicators for different agricultural work patterns and to identify the major problems faced by the farmers in the sample from El-Minya Governorate. The research findings indicated that the average value of seeds used for cultivating sugar beet in the field study sample in El-Minya Governorate was approximately 393 EGP per feddan, which accounted for about 8.09% of the total agricultural production input costs of approximately 4857 EGP per feddan, and about 3.79% of the total variable costs of approximately 10377 EGP per feddan. For small-scale farms using family labor, the cost was about 420 EGP per feddan, representing around 4.24% of the total variable costs and approximately 106.78% of the average sample. For medium-scale farms using family and hired labor, the cost was about 390 EGP per feddan, which is about 3.88% of the total variable costs and approximately 99.24% of the average sample. For large-scale farms using hired labor, the cost was around 370 EGP per feddan, representing about 3.31% of the total variable costs and approximately 94.15% of the average sample. The results also showed that the major problems faced by farmers were the high prices of agricultural inputs, affecting all farmers at a rate of 100%, indicating that costs generally impact all categories of farmers. This was followed by high costs of mechanized labor at 85.6% and increased labor wages at 82.2%, reflecting the growing pressures on farmers to obtain labor services, whether human or mechanized.