Comparison of organic and conventional wheat in terms of efficiency and cost in Turkey: a case study of Erzurum Province

This study aimed to compare organic and conventional wheat production in Erzurum province in terms of efficiency and cost to reveal which branch of production is more advantageous. The research data consists of 150 surveys from Askale, Hinis, Aziziye, Palandoken, and Yakutiye districts of Erzurum province. According to the data obtained, the wheat production amount of the management and land size as input, change costs, and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratios in fertilizer were evaluated by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). According to fixed and variable return, DEA and Bootstrap efficiency values were determined. As a result of the study, according to fixed return, while efficiency was 83,4% in DEA and 80,4% in Bootstrap, respectively. According to the variable return, efficiency was 85,8% in DEA and 81,5% in Bootstrap, respectively. In the first stage of the bootstrap has been determined that the use of seed and fertilizer will be reduced in both organic and conventional management. In the second stage of the bootstrap has been observed that the socio-demographic factors of the agricultural enterprises and business manager may be cause great variability on efficiency. It was determined that organic wheat-producing enterprises had higher yields and variable costs than conventional wheat-producing enterprises. The enterprises producing organic wheat have the potential to be effective and efficient in production by reducing their variable costs.