梨山地區烏龍茶生產效率之研究 — 三階段資料包絡分析法之應用

Abstract

梨山茶區位居合歡山脈海拔1,500至2,600公尺的山區，原為溫帶果樹與高冷蔬菜生產區，1979年以後開始有農民試種茶樹。當地茶種以青心烏龍為主，由於日夜溫差大，平均日照時間短，山區水氣豐沛，而且土壤肥沃，因此成為高品質茶葉的生產區。相較於台灣其他茶葉生產區如北部坪林、中部鹿谷、南部阿里山等，梨山茶區屬於新興茶區，相關之學術研究，特別是生產效率付之闕如。本研究之主要目的是建立梨山茶葉生產效率之實證模型，並探討外在環境變數的影響程度，以提供業者擬定生產計畫之參採。 本研究以問卷、面訪方式，蒐集梨山地區29戶茶葉生產者經營現況資料。利用三階段資料包絡分析法（Data Envelope Analysis, DEA)探討其生產效率。本研究之投入項為種植面積、固定人工、農藥與肥料費用、採茶費用、製茶費用等；產出項為茶菁與茶乾總產值。第一階段以CCR計算各茶戶效率值，其中只有5戶效率值為一，顯示位於效率前緣。第二階段隨機邊界法(Stochastic Frontier Approach, SFA)，設定環境變數，包括茶樹樹齡、海拔高度以及自創品牌等；以投入項差額值為被被解釋變數，各種環境變數為解釋變數，求出不同環境因素對於差額值的影響。結果發現創立品牌對生產效率有顯著的正向貢獻。 第三階段去除環境因素與隨機干擾的影響，將修正後的投入項重新執行CCR計算效率值，並與第一階段之生產效率比較是否存在顯著差異，藉此歸納 最具生產效率茶農的共同特色。總結本文實證結論，梨山茶區茶葉生產者提高生產效率的標竿經營模式：茶園海拔超過2,500公尺，種植規模超過四公頃以上；必須長期經營累積種植經驗，而且基礎種植設備完善；自創品牌並且注重包裝以確保品質，才能取得消費者的信任而掌握運銷通路。

Lishan tea farms are located Hehuan Mountain, about 1,500 to 2,600 meters above sea level. The area was known for temperate fruit trees and high elevation vegetables. Farmers started to grow tea in 1979. They grow primarily Qingxin Oolong. Drastic temperature difference between night and day, short average daytime sunlight exposure, abundant water supply in the mountains, along with fertile soil have made the area known for producing quality tea. Compared to other tea production areas in Taiwan, e.g. Pinglin in northern Taiwan, Lugu in central Taiwan, and Alishan in southern Taiwan, Lishan tea farm is rather new, with few academic studies, especially studies on its production efficiency. Therefore, this study primarily aimed to establish an empirical model for the tea production efficiency at Lishan and explored the degree of influence from external environmental variables with the results to serve as the growers’ reference while the latter establish their production plans in the future. The study was conducted through questionnaire and interviews to collect data on management status of 29 tea farmers at Lishan. The production efficiency was explored using the three-stage data envelope analysis (DEA). Input items in this study included the cultivation area, fixed manpower, costs of pesticides and fertilizers, tea harvesting cost, tea production cost, etc. Output items in this study were the total production value of fresh tea leaves and dried tea leaves. During the first stage, each producer’s efficiency value was calculated using CCR. Among the producers, only 5 had an efficiency value of 1, indicating that they were at the top of the efficiency list. During the second stage, the stochastic frontier approach (SFA) was used to set the environmental variables, including age of tea trees, altitude, and self-brand, etc. The difference among input items was the explained variable and various environmental variables were the explanatory variables to find out the influence of various environmental factors on the difference. Results showed that establishing self brands significantly and positively contributed to the production efficiency. Influence from environmental factors and randomized interference were eliminated during the third stage. The efficiency value was again calculated using CCR on the modified input items and the result was compared with the production efficiency obtained during the first stage for any significant difference. By doing this, common characteristics among the most efficient tea farmers were summarized. This empirical study came to a conclusion that tea producers at Lishan followed a benchmark management model to have efficient production. The tea farms were located at an altitude of over 2,500 meters, with the cultivation area covering over 4 hectares. The farmers accumulated their tea growing experiences through long-term management and with complete tea growing infrastructures. They created their own brand and paid attention to package to ensure quality and gain trust from consumers and take charge of the distribution network.