Assessing the technical efficiency of the Turkish dairy sector: a meta-analysis approach

Meta-analysis, as a powerful quantitative literature review method, has been widely utilized across various sectors. However, studies applying this approach to improve productivity and efficiency in dairy production remain relatively limited, particularly within the agricultural sector of Türkiye. To address this gap, this research examines the technical efficiency of the Turkish dairy sector using a meta-analysis approach. By the way, 28 farm level technical efficiency studies in dairy sector, published 2006-2020 period from different regions of Türkiye were selected and truncated regression method was used to determine the indicators affecting technical efficiency scores. Mean technical efficiency score was measured as 0.74 indicating that dairy farms had the opportunity to reduce the number of inputs by 26% without any change in the output. Thus, indicating that the environmental impacts of livestock activities, particularly greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitrous oxide, and land use pressures, could be significantly reduced. The model results revealed that research area, type of model, and the number of inputs and outputs were associated with higher levels of technical efficiency, whereas sample size and unit of output had no significant effect. These insights could guide policymakers and stakeholders in developing targeted strategies to enhance productivity and resource utilization in dairy sector. Encouraging further research and meta-analytical studies in agricultural sector would provide a more comprehensive understanding of efficiency dynamics and support evidence-based policy development.