Ali Bagherzadeh - Assistant Professor of Economics, Islamic Azad University, Khoy Branch, Iran

Sunflower as an important food product and because of nutritional features and the potential for having exchange has become a valuable product in foreign and inner markets and has a special position in agricultural sector. Khoy zone in Iran, by producing 40 percent of sunflower products of country annually, is the greatest sunflower producer in the Iran. The main purpose of this study is the analysis of research and development (R&D) effects on economic efficiency of sunflower producers in this zone. This study is according to a field research and cross-section data of 2010 have been used. Production function was estimated twice (with out R&D variable and with R&D variable). Results show adding research and development variable to production function decrease the degree of inefficiency and increase the amount of economic efficiency from 83% to 93%.

Sunflower, Research & tvevpoleveD, Economic efficiency, Khoy