Profit efficiency of mushroom cultivation in Antalya, Türkiye

Mushroom is an important fresh vegetable for the Turkish consumer market. However, mushroom production can only be carried out in a few places due to its specific climatic and geological requirements. The amount of mushroom produced in Türkiye was 55455 tonnes in 2020, 33518 tonnes of which (60%) was cultivated in Korkuteli town of Antalya/Türkiye. The main purpose of this research was to estimate the level of profit efficiency and determine factors affecting inefficiency of mushroom cultivation in Korkuteli/Antalya. Accordingly, 60 producers were interviewed in Korkuteli in 2020. Respecting effective exchange rate of 28th October 2020 ($ 1= 8.21 TL) the average per unit profit of producers was calculated as $ 24.98 and average profit inefficiency as 44%. The inefficiency score was estimated against socio-economic items relevant to individual farms or farmers with stochastic profit frontier approach. Gender, education and satisfaction levels of the producer and duration of harvest and registry to the Farmer Registration System (CKS) appeared as factors reducing profit inefficiency. However, age of the farmer, garden use of waste compost and mushroom sales through intermediaries were detected as inefficiency rising factors. Due to the findings, supporting female producers, providing applied training and courses, developing approaches to raise the satisfaction level of producers and supporting CKS registry were proposed. In addition, it was concluded that establishment of a waste compost centre and reopening the producer union, that was shut down earlier, might reduce profit inefficiency.