Abstract

A stochastic frontier production function is used to investigate the prospect to bring tea production efficiency in the Northern mountainous region of Vietnam to higher level using a cross-section data set of 258 randomly selected farms in 2013. Research results revealed that the average output of tea farms could increase by 10.4 percent by properly using the existing technology. The technical efficiency of the sample tea farms range from 62.1 percent to 97.2 percent (average 89.6). The variables such as: pesticide, labor, and capital negatively affected tea yield. However, irrigation water and types of chemical fertilizers such as: nitrogen, phosphorous, and npk showed a positive relationship with tea yield. The study demonstrated that important factors having positive impact on technical efficiency level of tea production are applying soil and water conservation technology, accessing extension services, joining cooperatives, and gender.