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Efficiency and sustainability assessment for a group of farmers in the Brazilian Amazon

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to use DEA models to evaluate sustainability in agriculture. Several variables are taken into account and the resulting efficiency is measured by comparison. The performance of family farms is analysed here (variables: farmed area, work force, and production). As agricultural sustainability depends on the maintenance of systems of production for long periods of time, the models were run for the years of 1986 and 2002. Tiered DEA models were used to group farmers in sustainability categories. Non-parametric regression models were used to identify the factors affecting the efficiency measurements. All the results indicate that the majority of the farmers increased their efficiency along the time. These improvements may support the existence of sustainability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Av. W3 Norte final, 70770-901, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Eliane Gonçalves Gomes & Geraldo da Silva e Souza

  2. Production Engineering Department, Fluminense Federal University, Rua Passo da Pátria 156, 24210-240, Niterói, RJ, Brazil

    João Carlos Correia Baptista Soares de Mello

  3. Material Science Department, Fluminense Federal University, Av. dos Trabalhadores 420, 27255-125, Volta Redonda, RJ, Brazil

    Lidia Angulo Meza

  4. Embrapa Satellite Monitoring, Av. Dr. Júlio Soares de Arruda 803, 13088-300, Campinas, SP, Brazil

    João Alfredo de Carvalho Mangabeira

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  1. Eliane Gonçalves Gomes
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  2. João Carlos Correia Baptista Soares de Mello
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  3. Geraldo da Silva e Souza
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  4. Lidia Angulo Meza
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Correspondence to Eliane Gonçalves Gomes.

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Gomes, E.G., Soares de Mello, J.C.C.B., e Souza, G.d.S. et al. Efficiency and sustainability assessment for a group of farmers in the Brazilian Amazon. Ann Oper Res 169, 167–181 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-008-0390-6

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