STATISTICAL ESTIMATION OF PRODUCTION AND COSTS FUNCTIONS OF SUMMER TOMATO CROP (CASE STUDY IN THE CENTER OF QUESNA - MONOFIYA GOVERNORATE)

The research aims at estimating production and economic efficiency through statistical estimation for the production and cost functions, and then to derive the economic derivatives of the production and cost functions, so that the researcher will be dealt with the research problem, namely, are the resources used in the production of summer tomatoes used efficiently or not?. The obtained findings of the research from the sample data indicate that the production is at the stage of increaseing the economics of scale. It was found that by increasing the used production inputs in the production by 1% of summer tomato, led to increases the productivity of the feddan by 8.2%, it is meaning that there is possibility to increase that productivity. The optimum size of the production obtained by equalizing the marginal costs against average cost, it was about 17.5 tons per feddan, which is lower than the average productivity in the research sample, which is about 21 tons per feddan. The maximum size of the profit, which was obtained by 
equalizing the marginal cost of marginal revenue, it was about 13.7 tons per feddan. It is noticed that there were several problems which faced the interviewers of the selected sample, including the lack of information and guidance on the high-yield varieties, the quantity and quality of pesticides used to control pests.                                                 The net return per feddan of tomato in the sample of the research was about 23,152 thousand Egyptian pounds and it was found that the revenue of the invested Egyptian pound was about 41 piaster.     Research recommended that increasing the role of the agricultural guidance system in the delivery of technical information to guide farmers, especially in the field of rationalization of the use of pesticides and the direction of biological control, in addition to the selection of suitable hybrid seedlings to increase the productivity of the unit area and reduce the cost of production and increase net return. Provide the irrigation water, clearing of canals and sheds and removal of waste. Food production and food security are a matter of national security, Therefore, the question of re-supporting and subside farmers in providing agricultural production needs with high quality, time, price and appropriate place must be reconsidered.