Assessing the efficiency of cotton farms considering qualitative factors under a DEA TOPSIS model

Abstract

In this study, input use efficiency of cotton growers has been assessed with a view to minimise exploitation of natural resources and promote incorporation of qualitative attributes in data envelopment analysis (DEA). Consequently, a three-part questionnaire has been created, containing: 1) demographics; 2) used inputs (land, seeds, agrochemicals, energy, irrigation and labour); 3) extracted outputs (production, revenue). TOPSIS model has been used so as to transform categorical variables of demographics (education and experience), as an input to the following DEA for benchmarking the input use efficiency. Out of 107 examined cotton farms 42 (39.3%) of them are operating efficiently, while the average obtained score is 0.915, meaning that changes should be implemented for ameliorating their performance. Apart from providing quantitative targets for cotton farmers, this paper seeks to address the DEA-TOPSIS combination as a useful tool for efficiency assessment contributing to a holistic sustainability evaluation. Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.