Evaluation of Efficiency of Tomato Producing Farms in Afghanistan

Efficiency is one of the most important factors in productivity growth, especially in the agricultural economies of developing countries. The use of inputs in the production of agricultural products can improve the quantity and quality of these products and move towards food security. Tomatoes are considered the second-most important agricultural product. Tomatoes are primarily produced in greater quantities in the eastern and southern regions of the country. In the current research, Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan is an important tomato-growing area with the aim of evaluating the efficiency of agricultural units in the province and examining the reasons for inefficiency. However, the current study, conducted in 2024, selected 102 tomato producers from 16 districts of this province using a random sampling method and measured their efficiency using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA).The data used in this research included yield per unit, pesticide use rate in liters, chemical fertilizer consumption rate (Urea, DAP) in Kg, seed consumption rate in Kg, number of hours of machinery use, and energy use rate. Work is in man-days, cultivated area in hectares, water consumption in cubic meters, and production in Kilograms. The results show that, in terms of Variable Return to Scale, there is an average of 98.6% technical efficiency, 49.9% allocation efficiency, and 49.3% economic efficiency. In this regard, it is recommended that the government of Afghanistan subsidize expensive items such as pesticides. In addition, regular and frequent visits are recommended to disseminate the latest methods of tomato cultivation, reduce losses, and educate and promote the practices of more productive farmers.