Calculating the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Livestock and Poultry Production with the Aim of Achieving Food Security in Provinces of Iran

Given the important role of the agricultural sector in ensuring Iran's food security, it seems necessary to simultaneously focus on the quantity and quality of products. The study aimed at comparing the efficient production and standard production of energy and key nutrients in livestock and poultry sub-sectors of the country's provinces using data envelopment analysis method. The required information was collected from the Ministry of Agriculture-Jahad (MAJ), USDA database and the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) in 2016. The results showed that the average technical efficiency of production in the provinces of the country was 90.8 percent and the average amounts of food security effectiveness in energy, protein, vitamin A, riboflavin, calcium and iron production were 93.9, 98.9, 88.2, 95.7, 59.9 and 99.8 percent, respectively. Also, the provinces were divided into three groups including efficient and effective, inefficient and effective, inefficient and ineffective. It is suggested that the production model of the provinces of the first group might be used as a model, taking into account the requirements of other provinces; in addition, in the provinces of the second group, the composition of production could be changed in such a way that the effectiveness of food security would be achieved in ineffective factors (mainly, calcium and vitamin A); finally, in the provinces of the third group, the strategies leading to improved technical efficiency should be used.