Calculation And Analysis Of Technical Efficiency And Technical Progress Rate Of Wheat Production In China’s Wheat Major Production Area

Wheat is the most widely planting food crop, which is a staple food for about34%to40%of the world’s population. While China is the largest wheat-producing country, whosetotal production and total consumption of wheat ranking first in the world, the perennialwheat planting area accounts for25%of the national food crops, the total output accountedfor22%of the country’s food crops, the annual consumption of about120million tons, theannual consumption growth is about2%, which is the staple food of about half of ourpopulation. Wheat occupies an extremely important position in China’s grain composition, isan important commodity grain and varieties of strategic grain reserves.However, China has large population, cultivated land resources are relatively seriousdeficiency, and in the past30years, land resources was decreasing year by year. In recentyears, although China has effectively curb the momentum of excessive reduction of arableland, but with the acceleration of the process of industrialization and urbanization, in aconsiderable period of time, China still faces the reality of the sharp contradiction betweensupply and demand, so rely on the increase of cultivated land to increase the total productionof wheat will be a greater constraint. In addition, with the adjustment of planting structure, theproportion of food crops is declining, wheat planting which has relatively lower yielding willbear the brunt. On the other hand, the total demand for wheat rose year by year in our country,and the gap between supply and demand has a tendency to increase, while we can not dependon foreign imports.In view of this situation, this paper research on wheat production, in order to find how toimprove the technical efficiency and promote technical progress, to stabilize China’s wheatproduction and mining production potential of wheat.On the basis of understanding of the concepts and theories of economic growth,technological efficiency and technical progress, this paper firstly used statistical methods toanalyze the wheat planting of15major wheat producing areas in China from1995to2009,after that, with the help of stochastic frontier production function model and cluster analysismethod, to calculation and analysis the technical efficiency, technical progress rate and the contribution of various factor inputs, using the input-output panel data of wheat production in15major wheat producing areas, and compared the interval differences among differentprovinces, and then further studies the factors influencing the technical efficiency of wheatproduction, analyses the reasons for the technical progress in part producing areas.The research results show that:(1) the total technical efficiency of all wheat-producingareas are relative high, and showing a fluctuation upward trend, but the wheat productiontechnical efficiency has changed dramatically for every province over the years, technicalefficiency level among provinces also has more different.(2) Of all the factors, which affectthe technical efficiency of wheat production, in addition to the proportion of wheat plantingand non-agricultural population level, other variables have a certain level of significant impacton the technical efficiency wheat production; only the influence direction of non-agriculturalpopulation level and farmers’ income level inconsistent with the contemplated of this article.(3) The returns to scale of wheat producing in china is decreasing. Among the inputs factors,elasticity coefficient of labor number is significantly negative, indicating that labor input has anegative impact on promoting the growth of wheat yield in per unit area; the elasticitycoefficient of material fees weakened and stabilized, the elasticity coefficient of fertilizerinput is gradually increasing, that is, wheat production is more dependent on material inputs,and increase material fees and fertilizer inputs can lead to the growth of wheat production.(4)China’s wheat production has a made prominent technical progress, and continue to be growth,but the regional differences is obvious in the degree of technical progress. However, thegrowth rate of technological changes over time and is on the decline in Chinese wheatproduction, indicating that although the changes in wheat production technology show growthtrend, but the growth momentum is weakening. Technological change show a feature of laborconsuming and fertilizer inputs saving, indicating that wheat production does not belong tolabor-intensive agriculture, rural labor force is remaining.