TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF CABBAGE (BRASSICA OLERACEA) GROWING FARMS- AN OPPORTUNITY TO STABILIZE AGRICULTURE ECONOMY

Vegetables have potential significance in terms of their use not only for their food and nutrition but also for affordable sources of essential vitamins and minerals globally. Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) is an economically important vegetable crop with the potential to increase the incomes of the farmers not only in open fields but also in greenhouses in Oman as Cabbage is more popular among customers throughout Arabian Peninsula countries and valuable with moderate retail prices than other vegetables. Hence, a survey was undertaken to investigate the technical efficiency of cabbage-growing farms in the Sultanate of Oman. The research estimated and examined the technical efficiency of okra-growing farms of different governorates of Oman. A sample of 89 cabbage-growing farms was selected, adapting the multistage sampling method. The interview schedules were followed for data collection in 2016 and 2017. The maximum likelihood method was used, and the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production model was applied to the data collected. After performing various econometrics of software, the output of the Frontier 4.1 was found to be a good fit. The results of the investigation indicated that the mean technical efficiency for cabbage farms in Oman is estimated to be 85%, with a wide range from as low as 63% to as high as 100%. There exists a considerable possibility of increasing cabbage output by 15% with the current level of inputs employed by cabbage farmers. Cabbagegrowing farms had enormous scope to improve their efficiency and increase productivity by following regular extension programs involving farmers in cultivating Cabbage.