Farming status, economic and technical efficiency of agroforestry models at Nui Dai, An Giang province

Abstract

This study was carried out from November 2021 to May 2022 with the aim to evaluate the farming status, economic and technical effieciency of agroforestry model in Nui Dai, the largest mountain in the Bay Nui region, An Giang province. Via randomly interviewing 89 farmers using a structured questionnaire form, data on the status of agroforestry production, total income, and natural conditions were collected and analyzed. The results indicated that there were 13 existing farming models, including 6 agroforestry models and 7 models that grew only crop plants or forest trees. Agroforestry models accounted for 40.94% of the total annual income of households, with profits ranging from 6.71 to 23.3 milllion VND/ha per year. Input factors, including cultivated area, hired labor for planting, and yearly harvesting, showed a positive correlation with the income from farming models. The average technical efficiency (TE) of the farming models was 49.46%. The factors positively affecting to TE were ethnicity, farming experience and soil types, whereas the number of household members negatively affected TE.