Can Greenhouse Technology Adoption Unlock Technical Efficiency Gains? Evidence From Melon Farming in East Java, Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to examine the factors that influence melon farmers in adopting greenhouse technology and analyze the impact of greenhouse technology on increasing the technical efficiency of melon farming. The sample size was 120 melon farmers in East Java Province, Indonesia. Probit regression was used to analyze the factors influencing farmers’ adoption of Greenhouse technology, while the Stochastic Production Frontier function was employed to obtain the estimated technical efficiency value of each planting system in melon farming. The empirical results indicate that socio-economic variables such as age, education, and partnership relationships have a positive and statistically significant influence on the decision of melon farmers in the adoption of Greenhouse technology. In contrast, the variables including the number of family dependents, years of farming experience, and the main type of work as a farmer demonstrate a negative and significant influence. Overall, both the Greenhouse and conventional planting systems are technically efficient, although the levels of efficiency vary between the two methods and the performance outcomes are not identical. Regarding propensity score matching estimation, the greenhouse melon farming system has a higher technical efficiency value than conventional farming, with a difference of 0.041 in the stratification matching estimation and 0.0858 in the sample after the matching process, which strengthens the robustness of the findings. This finding clearly illustrates that farming through the adoption of Greenhouse technology has a positive and substantial impact on increasing technical efficiency, and therefore it is considered an appropriate, relevant, and reliable technology recommendation for increasing melon productivity in a sustainable way.

Keywords

• Greenhouse
• Efficiency
• Productivity
• Propensity score matching; Stochastic production frontier

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