Análise da eficiência técnica e do perfil socioeconômico dos produtores de leite do município de Sobral - Ceará

Abstract

This essay aims to identify the milk producers’ degree of efficiency and point the means out for the unefficiency decrease, pointing at their contingent causes by means of the identifying of the efficient and unefficient producers’ profile. For the computation of efficiency we’ve used the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), directed to the input by means of a sample of forty producers of the Municipal District of Sobral (CE), divided according to the degree of realized efficiency. We’ve used primary data, obtained by applying formularies on visits to land properties. We’ve observed that only tem producers acquired the maximum efficiency, thirty obtained an efficiency a degree lesser than one, while twenty-six of all of them work at the scale in increasing returns, and four on the basis of decreasing ones. The efficient class, which obtained an efficiency level superior to 90% (ninety percent) is formed by thirteen producers, while the unefficient group includes twenty-seven producers, who obtained an efficient degree inferior to 90% (ninety percent). The comparison of these groups, according to some social, cultural and technological characteristics, as well as to indicators of technical and economical performance, showed, positively, the influence of familiar participation in the management of the property and scholar level. The producer’s residence in city, differently from what could be expected, revealed itself as favourable to an increasing efficiency, what may be explained by the more intense producer’s socializing, leading to a higher scholar level, partnership in class entities, admission to technical assistance and a larger use of technology; this all demonstrates favourability to efficient producers and leads them to obtain better technological and economical performances. After that, we went on analyzing the unefficient producers by means of some studycases and analyses of the contingent average reductions in the input usage, with a reference to the benchmarks. The analysis of some unefficient producers indicated, by means of efficiency levels, that, in proportion to the rising level of efficiency, the signs of technical and economical performance reveal themselves better. The results have demonstrated the possibility of an average reduction of 58,6% on the total operating cost, and of 67,4% on the milk unitary cost by means of proportional reductions and eliminations of vacua, so that the production would remain on the same level, and producers would pass to obtain the maximum efficiency.