Productive efficiency of viticulture systems in the Douro region

Resumo

Many studies have shown that increasing efficiency is the best option in increasing output compared to introducing new technology, in the short run. The purpose of this paper is to estimate and analyse the technical efficiency (TE) component of productivity for a sample of wine grape producers in the Douro Demarcated Region (Portugal). The data was collected through face-to-face surveys and includes a sample of 109 farms with specific input-output information and other data about production systems in the year of 2017. We use a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to obtain TE scores at the farm level and to examine the determinants of the inefficiency of holdings. The results show that some wine grape farms have a low efficiency level and there are essential determinants of the production system that could influence the efficiency of the farm. This suggests a considerable opportunities for improvement wine grape productivity through better use of available resources given the state of technology.