Assessing the Technical Efficiency of Main Protected Vegetable Cultivation in Northern Palestine

This study examines the technical efficiency (TE) of protected vegetable farming in Northern Palestine, a region where vegetable cultivation plays a vital role due to favorable climatic conditions and soil fertility. Despite its significance, little empirical research exists on TE in protected agriculture in the region. This paper measures the TE of key vegetable crops as cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, peas, and eggplants using a Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) model applied to cross-sectional data from 127 farms in the Northern West Bank during 2023–2024. Results show variability in TE across crops: tomato farms demonstrate the highest average TE (96.2%), followed by pepper (80.2%) and cucumber (79%) farms, while peas (55.3%) and eggplants (50.3%) reveal considerable inefficiencies. Factors influencing TE include input type and use practices. For cucumbers, excessive labor and chemical fertilizers reduced TE, while organic fertilization improved it. In tomato farming, overreliance on chemical inputs and mismanaged irrigation decreased efficiency, whereas organic inputs had positive effects. Pepper TE benefited from labor and organic fertilization, but was hindered by poor soil sterilization. Peas and eggplants were most affected by inefficient input use and suboptimal practices. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions, especially in organic fertilization and labor management, to improve efficiency in protected vegetable production systems across the region.