Investigation on Technical Efficiency of Agronomy and Horticulture Sub Sectors Products in Khorasan Razavi Province: Application of Integrated Neural Network and Fuzzy Clustering Approach

A survey of the natural resources situation in the Khorasan Razavi province reveals that this sector is faced with problems such as negative balance of water in the plains, soil salinity, and soil erosion. This study tries to estimate the technical efficiency of the states of the Khorasan Razavi province in agronomy and horticulture subsectors with attention to restriction of water resources. Required data is collected from yearbooks of Jihad Keshavarzi and Regional Water Organization of Khorasan Razavi province for years 1997, 2002 to 2004 and 2006. This study uses an integrated neural network and fuzzy clustering algorithm. Mean of technical efficiency in the case of considering water resource limitation is 77 percent while as in the case of not considering water recourse limitation is about 74 percent. Results indicate that considering water recourse limitation in agricultural production in each region can affect results of technical efficiency assessment for each state.