Author: Ghulam Murtaza
AIT Library Call Number: AIT Diss. no.RD-15-01
Year: 2015
Academic Program: Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP)
Type: Thesis (Ph.D.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 2015
Examination Committee: Gopal B. Thapa (Chairperson); Jayant Kumar Routray, Ganesh P. Shivakoti, Beatrice Knerr(Examination Committee Members)
Abstract: The apple production sector of Balochistan province of Pakistan is confronted with the chronic constraint of low output per unit of input resulting low living standards and low incomes. Notwithstanding the production aspect, apple marketing has never been adequately focussed as well. This study made an effort to bridge research gap on this potential crop in the province by investigating the yield-gap and technical, cost and marketing efficiency of 181 officially designated small-scale apple farmers then explored factors that underlie differences in production and marketing inefficiency. The apple yield gap was analyzed at two different stages. Firstly, the differences between yields obtained at a local experimental station (YGE) and yields observed at farmers’ fields. Secondly, within farmers yield gap (YGM) such that the maximum observed in the sample were considered as potential yields. Afterwards, truncated regression was used to regress factors affecting yield gap within apple farms. A two-stage input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology was employed to evaluate technical and cost efficiency followed by truncated bootstrapped regression framework to analyze the correlative determinants to the technical- and cost efficiency. Apple marketing channels and marketing performance were scrutinized by the functionaries’ role and behavior, interaction among them, price setting strategies, income sharing, variation in price, marketing costs and marketing margins, and factors associated with the choice of marketing strategies and price variation. The average farm level yields of commonly grown Katja and Red-delicious apple varieties were below one-third of the experimental station yields, leading to an average yield gap YGE of about 5900 and 6454 kg acre·1 , respectively. Pertaining to a relatively homogenous bio-physical environment, average farmer yield was slightly more than half of the maximum farmer yield for both apple varieties. Yield gap was affected by landholding size, better farming pra
Scholarship Donor(s): University ofBalochistan Quetta; Pakistan – AIT Fellowship
Note: A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Regional and Rural Development Planning
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