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Abstract
Pequi is a native fruit that has relevant nutritional potential and plays an
important role in the generation of employment and income in the places where it
occurs. Therefore, this study aims to measure the technical efficiency scores of pequi
extractivists of the state of Ceará. In order to achieve the proposed goal, the data
envelopment analysis model (DEA) has been employed. The data are of primary
nature, collected in 2013, directly with a sample of 86 pequi extractivists located in
the municipality of Crato, in the state of Ceará. The results indicated that the pequi
extractivists of the state of Ceará can reduce, on average, the costs with raw materials
in 72% and 21%, respectively, in the models with constant and variable returns to scale,
without compromising the production. In addition, it has been observed that, about the
assumption of the model with constant returns to scale, the majority of the extractivists
showed efficiency scores below 0.5, however, when one includes a convexity restriction,
the majority of the extractivists obtain optimal efficiency level.