Efficiency of corn cultivation to enhance food self-sufficiency in Indonesia

Abstract

Corn farming is crucial for achieving national food self-sufficiency in Central Java Province, because it contributes to structural changes in the economy. This research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods used and to study the factors involved in the production of corn. A Stochastic Frontier (SFA) model as used to assess the efficiency and production factors. The findings indicate that farmers operate at a technical efficiency of 77%, an allocative efficiency of 63%, and an economic efficiency of 56%. To enhance efficiency, farmers are encouraged to optimize corn farming. Notably, the production factors of land area, seeds, urea fertilizers, NPK fertilizers, KCI fertilizers, pesticides, and labor have positive effects. The evaluation of business size suggests growing returns to scale, emphasizing the beneficial effect of increasing production inputs on of corn production. However, neglecting production factors may lead to additional inputs and reduced crop yields. Optimizing the use of inputs can increase the production scale of corn farming, improve efficiency as well as national food self-sufficiency. This research provides valuable insights for farmers seeking to enhance efficiency through the effective input use. Moreover, these findings are instrumental to the government's development of agricultural plans aimed at advancing farming and implementing policies to boost efficiency and attain food self-sufficiency.