Agricultural Productivity and Technical Efficiency in Colombia: Evidence by Crop Type and Farm Size from the 2019 National Agricultural Survey

Agricultural Productivity and Technical Efficiency in Colombia

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the determinants of agricultural productivity and technical efficiency in Colombia, with particular attention to crop type and farm size. Methods: Data were drawn from more than 137,000 agricultural production units in the 2019 National Agricultural Survey, which covered 32 departments using a stratified probabilistic cluster design. Partial Factor Productivity of Land and Total Factor Productivity were calculated, and a Cobb–Douglas stochastic frontier model was estimated in Stata 16 to evaluate the effects of land, labor, machinery, inputs, producer characteristics, and institutional factors. Results: Land, labor, machinery, and inputs were positively and significantly associated with output, and the estimated technology exhibited increasing returns to scale. Technical efficiency varied with producer age, education, innovation, crop diversification, access to finance, and crop concentration. Productivity measures also showed substantial heterogeneity across crop types, especially among permanent crops. Conclusion: Agricultural productivity in Colombia depends on resource endowments as well as human-capital and institutional conditions. Policies that improve education, financing, innovation, and crop diversification, while supporting younger producers, could strengthen technical efficiency and sustainable rural development.