MEASURING THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF FISH HOLDING IN CAGES IN IRAQ

Abstract

This study aimed to measure the economic performance of fish in cages in to riverbanks, using data envelopment analysis. This analysis involved measurement of each of technical efficiency of production function in constant returns to scale and variable returns to scale, scale efficiency, wasting in economic resources, and technical, allocative and economic efficiency of the cost function in variable returns to scale.. Input oriented model of linear programming after transferring to the counterpart model was used for estimation of the economic efficiency of production and cost function. The averages of technical efficiency in constant returns to scale and variable return to scale were 96% and 97.6% respectively, and 59.26 of the breeders were working in IRS while 9.26 of them are working in constant returned scale studying the resource that achieved the efficiency using production function and comparing it with the actually used recourse , whereas, 31.46% of them working in decreasing return to scale. Similarly, results revealed that averages of allocative and economic efficiency in VRS for breeders in floating docks (91.4% and 89.2% respectively). we can deduce a waste in most resources and most farmers working within acceptable limits for economic efficiency in spite of the presence of the waste in the use of resources, which led to a gap between the efficiency of the full 100% and what exists at the breeder fish in cages as that (9.26%) from a breeder fish in cages working within efficiency full economic, and if the use of economic resources better for most farmers got the full economic efficiency it is recommended the necessity of taking care in cage breeding fish as it has high efficiency this type of breeding is eco-fiend and has no contamination effect on water .furthermore, it is necessary to focus to attar the instruction and laws regarding lisonce granting beside engagement of farmers in heuristic to encourage them to breed fish in river banks, lakes and marshes.