Agricultural Productivity and Efficiency in the Portuguese Speaking African Countries (PALOP) and East-Timor

Abstract The Portuguese-Speaking African Countries (Palop) and East Timor are countries in the early stages of development with a strong presence of agricultural sector in their economies. The objective of this study is to investigate the agricultural productivity and efficiency of these countries. The Stochastic Frontier procedure was used to estimate the agricultural production frontier for Palop and East Timor, from which the Malmquist Total Factor Productivity Index (IPTF) was determined. In the Palop and East Timor, Total Agricultural Factor Productivity (TFP) is low against the technological availability in the sector worldwide. The dominance of small production makes efficiency the most important component of the sector’s performance in these countries.