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This study examines the impact of the row planting method on maize productivity and risk exposure using panel datasets from Ethiopia. A flexible moment-based production function is fitted to capture the expected yield, yield variance, and exposure to downside risk. A Mundlak–Chamberlain approach is combined with a switching regression treatment effects model to account for unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity. The study shows that adopters of the row planting method significantly reduced exposure to downside risk while increasing expected yield. The analysis also identified some household and environmental conditions that affect the gain from the row planting method.

Households in developing countries are exposed to various shocks and risks, which leaves them vulnerable as they typically have limited resources to cope with them. Even though a large body of development literature has focused on the role of risk in rural livelihoods, the focus is often on single sources of risk and taking a unidimensional view on risk preference. This paper explores the diversity in risk perception and risk preferences of Ethiopian households by combining incentivized field experiments with detailed primary household survey data. We disentangle the relationship between risk perception and risk preferences using an innovative combination of time framing and instrumental variable estimation approaches. We find that our respondents are exposed to multiple past shocks and perceive multiple sources of future threats across different agricultural risk domains. Our respondents can be characterized as relatively risk-averse and loss-averse, and they also overweight unlikely extreme outcomes. We find a statistically significant association between the prospect theory risk preferences parameters—risk aversion, loss aversion, and probability weighting—and overall risk perception, domain-specific risk perceptions (except for the personal domain) and the impact dimension of future risk. Our findings make an important contribution to our understanding of farm households’ risk behavior, and can guide prioritizing development efforts to stimulate better informed and well-targeted risk management policy interventions.

The article discusses the arguments supporting and questioning the feasibility of introducing a mandatory form of Russian crop insurance with state support funds. Substantiate the author’s position on the establishment of a reserve fund for backup recovery widespread catastrophic damage in particularly adverse weather conditions for years, leading to a complete loss of acreage and yield.

Rainstorms are one of the frequent natural disasters which have significant impact on agricultural production and people’s lives. Considering the comprehensive influence of various factors on the rainstorm events, this study extracts four elements of rainstorms in the Liaoning Province based on meteorological data collected between 1957 and 2015. Combined four elements of rainstorms by copula function, the cumulative probability of the rainstorm events and the probability of their return period can be analysed. The results show that the joint return period of multiple factors combination is less than the return period of a single factor. The degree of accuracy of the joint return period is higher, which is consistent with the actual situation. During periods of 5, 10, 20, and 50 years, the occurrence probability varies according to the idea ‘the central region is higher, while the eastern and western regions are lower’. Special attention must be paid to the low values of the region in future rainstorm disaster prevention and mitigation work. Based on return periods, the agricultural risk grade can be divided into 5 levels. In ascending order, they are level I (Fuxin, Shenyang, Tieling), II (Dalian, Jinzhou, Panjin, Liaoyang), III (Huludao, Fushun), IV (Chaoyang, Yingkou, Anshan, Benxi), and V (Dandong).

Rural livelihoods in most developing countries are threatened by climate-related risks such as drought, flood, heat waves, storms, and so on. Although farmers have adopted several adaptation strategies, they have proven less effective than hoped. Hence, index-based livestock insurance, an innovation that significantly assists farmers to acclimatise to climate-related risks, has been proposed, and its adaptability has attracted a notable increase in other African countries. However, the success of its adoption is dependent on the inclination of the farmers to pay for the service. Accordingly, this study investigates their willingness to pay for index-based livestock insurance and its determinants, and the factors influencing the total livestock units to be insured in the North West province of South Africa. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 277 cattle farmers, drawn randomly from the study area. The contingent valuation method was applied to determine the farmers' willingness to pay, and only 10.8% were willing to pay. Simultaneously, the Heckit sample selection model was used to analyse the data to identify the factors responsible for farmers&rsquo, willingness to pay and total livestock units to insure. The findings revealed that farmer&rsquo, s experience, age, education, marital status, awareness of insurance and household dependents were statistically significant, and influenced the maximum price R600 ($42, max willingness to pay, WTP) of those who accepted index-based livestock insurance. However, by implication, the study concluded that to adopt index-based livestock insurance in the study area among the livestock farmers, there should be policies to cater for the aforementioned factors.

Agriculture is a unique sector because of its dependence on the climate and biological variables. Therefore, in agriculture it is vital to identify and evaluate risks to be sure that decisions made on the farm will bring positive results. Torbat-e-Heydarieh is the most important center in saffron cultivation and production in Khorasan Razavi province and Iran. This city is famous for its Saffron lands. It has the first rank in the world for producing Saffron . So, in this paper, we employed risk profile analysis to saffron risk management. By using previous literatures, all of the risks of agricultural sector are identified and classified in nine categories. The information was collected from the university elite and Saffron union members. To design the risk profile, we used data from 67 saffron producers of Torbat Heydariyeh in 1395. For evaluating of losses related to each risk component, two indexes of frequency and severity of risk were calculated and based on that risk matrix were created. Results showed that the greatest area of risk is included all of the risk of pests, diseases and weeds (Different types of weeds, Micro pests (Fungi and bacteria), Macro pests( Mice, ant, insect, Grazing livestock)), economic risk (Brokers, market fluctuations, lack of liquidity of farmers), Climate risk (drought, frost and freeze) and damage risk (Reduce yield due to farm life).

Agricultural climate index-based-insurance (IBI) compensates farmers for losses from adverse climatic conditions. Using a systemic review, we show that research related to agricultural climate index-based-insurance efficacy and application is lacking in many climate and food security vulnerable countries. We concluded that there are countries with high climate and food insecurity risk based on several climate and food security indicators that lack agricultural climate index-based-insurance research that could help farmers in these countries. Research to date has also largely focused on cereal crops and drought, which only represent a fraction of the crops and climate risks that agricultural climate index-based-insurance could be beneficial in managing. Our paper provides evidence-based recommendations for countries that should be focused on to redress the current disparities in agricultural climate index-based-insurance research.

The article highlights and explores aspects of alternative financing for the development of agriculture in Ukraine. The main trends that have developed in modern conditions on the use of alternative financing instruments are considered, the features and possibilities of using such forms of attracting financial resources are described. The mechanism of financing through alternative sources will facilitate improved access of business entities of the agricultural sector to financial resources, especially at a time when enterprises carry out production and economic operations that require investments and during their seasonal inactivity. As an alternative to financing the innovations of the agricultural sector, tools are considered that, at a cost, can be cheaper than bank lending and have a less complicated clearance procedure. Alternative forms of financing the development and introduction of innovations in agriculture are considered.

The ability to manage financial risk is especially important for people earning their living through agriculture. Many farmers only get paid once or twice a year, and households need to stretch their earnings across the year by saving or borrowing money. Moreover, agricultural production faces a variety of risks related to both production and markets because of their exposure to weather and disease shocks. Households engaged in agriculture may thus especially benefit from financial inclusion—access to and use of formal financial services. This paper explores the topic of financial risk management in agriculture—how adults who rely on growing crops or raising livestock as their household's main source of income manage financial risk and use financial services. The paper summarizes new data based on a nationally representative survey of about 15,000 adults in 15 lower-middle- and low-income Sub-Saharan African economies collected as part of the World Bank's Global Findex database. The majority of these adults reported suffering a bad harvest or significant livestock loss in the past five years, and most bear the entire financial risk of such a loss. Most adults in agricultural households lack the financial tools -- such as insurance, accounts, savings, and credit -- that could help them manage financial risks.

This report presents an assessment of Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector disaster risk and management capacity. The findings indicate that Zimbabwe is highly exposed to agricultural risks and has limited capacity to manage risk at various levels. The report shows that disaster-related shocks along Zimbabwe’s agricultural supply chains directly translate to volatility in agricultural GDP. Such shocks have a substantial impact on economic growth, food security, and fiscal balance. When catastrophic disasters occur, the economy absorbs the shocks, without benefiting from any instruments that transfer the risk to markets and coping ability. The increasing prevalence of ‘shock recovery-shock’ cycles impairs Zimbabwe’s ability to plan and pursue a sustainable development path. The findings presented here confirm that it is highly pertinent for Zimbabwe to strengthen the capacity to manage risk at various levels, from the smallholder farmer, to other participants along the supply chain, to consumers (who require a reliable, safe food supply), and ultimately to the government to manage natural disasters. The assessment provides the following evidence on sources of risks and plausible risk management solutions. It is our hope that the report contributes to action by the Government of Zimbabwe to adopt a proactive and integrated risk management strategy appropriate to the current structure of the agricultural sector.

This study proposes a probabilistic model of the individual crop insurance purchase decision that explicitly recognizes that neither the producer nor the insurer knows the exact value of the actuarially fair premium (AFP) underlying the desired policy. The model is used to explore the impact of key features of the insurer and producer AFP estimates on the probability that the producer will purchase insurance and other important indicators of program performance. The model is applied to assessing the merits of alternative premium estimation methods and to shed light on some major factors affecting the performance of the U.S. crop insurance program.

Weather index-based crop insurance is increasingly becoming important as a risk mitigation strategy that farmers may use to mitigate adverse climate shocks and natural disasters encountered during farming. While Europe, North America, and Asia account for 20.1%, 55%, and 19.5% of the total agricultural insurance premium worldwide, respectively, Africa accounts for only 0.5% of the world insurance industry. One of the key reasons advanced against the low index insurance participation rate in Africa is the failure to involve farm households at the initial conceptualization and design of pilot initiatives. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to design an improved participatory methodology that could help elicit information on the value placed by farm households in Southwestern Burkina Faso on a new weather index-based crop insurance management initiative. A key concept in the improved participatory methodology is that of the willingness to pay (WTP) of farm households for the scheme. Knowledge of the maximum amount that farmers are willing to pay for the scheme can help insurance policy providers and public policy makers to design and put in place measures that sustain index insurance schemes in a developing country context and improve welfare among participating farmers.

Farmers in India are exposed to large agriculture risks due to vagaries of nature. One of the most effective mechanisms to mitigate agricultural risks is to have a robust insurance system. Although crop insurance has been in the country since 1972, yet it has been beset with several problems such as lack of transparency, high premium, delay in conducting crop cutting experiments and non-payment/delayed payment of claims to farmers. Realizing the limitations of existing system of crop insurance, a new crop insurance scheme was launched on Baisakhi day, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), from Kharif 2016. Although the overall area insured has increased by a modest 6.5 percent (from 53.7 million ha in 2015-16 to 57.2 million ha in 2016-17), the number of farmers insured has increased by 20.4 percent (from 47.5 million to 57.2 million), the sum insured has increased by 74 percent (from Rs 115432.4 crore to 200618.9 crore), and premium paid has increased by 298 percent (from Rs 5491.3 crore to Rs 21882 crore) over the same period. The scheme has faced several challenges during its first year of implementation which pertain to extension of cut off dates for registration resulting in high premium rates; delay in submission of yield data to assess damages as the system relies on thousands of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCE); lack of trust in the quality of such data as they are not being video recorded and delay in payment of premium subsidy by the state governments to the insurance companies, etc. The litmus test of any crop insurance program is quick assessment of crop damages and payment of claims into farmers' accounts directly, and from that point of view, the first year of implementation of PMFBY has not been very successful. This paper recommends use of high technology and JAM trinity by linking land records of farmers with their Aadhaar numbers and bank accounts for assessment and faster settlement of claims. A portal linking Core Banking Solution (CBS) and crop insurance is need of the hour giving information on real time basis. India's prowess in Information Technology should come handy to achieve this.

The objective of this paper is to develop an approach for integrating a gender dimension into Agricultural Sector Risk Assessments (ASRAs). The focus is on the approach because both agricultural risk and gender issues are contextual, thus the outcomes of a gender-based risk assessment are highly dependent on the social, cultural, geo-graphic, and economic contexts of the setting in which the assessment is applied. The organization of the paper reflects the challenges of incorporating a gender dimension into ASRAs. The conceptual framework and step-by-step illustrations presented herein are based on lessons learned by the World Bank and other institutions in assisting developing economies in conducting sector and key commodity supply chain risk assessments (World Bank 2015a). The paper also relies on recent work by international institutions and academic research that offer insights into the complexities of gender issues in relation to agricultural shocks. These experiences inform this paper’s case for a gender-based approach to Agriculture Risk Management (ARM) and help to illustrate a practical, stepwise approach for conducting gender-based ASRAs. This paper is arranged as follows: Chapter 2 offers a summary of the conceptual framework for risk management, including addressing why a gendered approach to ASRAs is essential; Chapter 3 shows the available evidence that agricultural risk has a gender-differentiated impact on farming households and that farming households adopt a gender-differentiated response to risk; Chapter 4 describes a step-by-step operational approach for doing so, and includes guidance for formulating gender-smart policies and strategies for strengthening agricultural systems’ resilience; and Chapter 5 presents a summary of findings and concluding remarks.

County-level yield data are used in applied research and crop insurance policy in place of farm-level yield data, which are likely sparse, not broadly representative, and subject to selection bias. We exploit the fact that county-level yields are the aggregate of farm-level yields to derive bounds that can be reduced to direct relationships between county- and farm-level yields under certain conditions. Simulation experiments indicate that crop insurance premium estimates derived from this method have the potential for bias in certain conditions but are reasonably precise in other conditions, suggesting that these relationships are a new tool for applied analysts.

Met de inwerkingtreding van het Besluit bodemkwaliteit in 2008 zijn nieuwe regels vastgesteld voor de kwaliteit van grond en bagger, bedoeld voor hergebruik. Op het webportaal www.risicotoolboxbodem.nl is informatie te vinden over deze nieuwe regels en worden instrumenten aangeboden om de (water)bodems op basis van deze regels te beoordelen. Dit rapport bevat informatie over de onderliggende formules. Op dit moment zijn de modules 'Gevolgen Lokale Maximale Waarden' en 'Gevolgen Actuele Bodemkwaliteit' operationeel. Met de eerste module kunnen de risico's worden berekend voor een voorgestelde set van lokale normen, de zogenoemde Lokale Maximale Waarden. Binnen deze berekeningsvariant werkt de risicotoolbox strikt volgens de bepalingen uit het Besluit. Met de tweede module kunnen de mogelijke risico's van een bestaande lokale bodemkwaliteit naar aard en omvang worden gespecificeerd. Dit rapport vormt de modeldocumentatie van de module 'Gevolgen Lokale Maximale Waarden'. De modellen zijn voor alle stoffen gecontroleerd door deze in een andere applicatie na te bouwen en de uitkomsten te vergelijken. De modules omvatten ook onderliggende bestanden met modelparameters, stofeigenschappen en toxiciteitgegevens. Deze gegevens zijn ontleend aan de literatuur en zijn niet nader geverifieerd.

Brazil is a country with one the largest areas of forest plantations in the world. The state of Paraná (PR) has the largest area of designated plantations in the country. The main cultivated species belong to the genus Eucalyptus. In this work, the areas of better favorability for planting the main species of commercial value eucalyptus were defined. Additionally, changes may also occur in these zones in the coming decades, due to global climate change. For this purpose, future scenarios were elaborated using a stochastic time series simulation software, to assess the possible changes of the climate and indicate potential consequences regarding the changes of eucalyptus plantation zones. The results show that there will be an increase in areas favorable to the commercial plantations of E. grandis and E. urograndis, species cultivated in the Cfa climate zone (subtropical zones). For E. benthamii, a species cultivated mostly in the Cfb climate zone (temperate zones), there will be a reduction of suitable areas for commercial plantations in Paraná, with displacement to areas located to the south and at higher altitudes, where edaphic limitations may occur. Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-08T00:14:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2017M.WregeRGAgroclimatic.pdf: 2830056 bytes, checksum: 01264b1a19cf778cb493823953654d19 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-06

We consider a political economy in which government cares about risk-averse farmers' loss of income but incurs political cost if it provides monetary support to farmers. Farmers' expectations of government disaster aid and overconfidence (optimism bias) regarding their risk prevent farmers from purchasing full insurance under actuarially fair rates. Considering this conclusion, government prefers to subsidize farmers' purchases of insurance ex ante rather than solely relying on disaster aid ex post. The resulting subsidy rate depends on the political environment, the degree of systemic risk, the distribution of farmers' risk preferences, and the nature and distribution of farmers' risk perceptions.

The study focuses on themes and areas that have been identified as highly relevant for the modernization and commercialization of the agriculture sector. The study originally aimed to review: agricultural marketing, processing and exports; food safety; agricultural “cooperation,” including farmers’ groups; agricultural extension and agricultural insurance. This coverage was subsequently modified to: (i) avoid repetition of existing work; (ii) draw more extensively on WBG experience in other countries; (iii) address relevant long-term issues more directly; and (iv) to inform discussion of relevant issues on which little information was available. The proposed review of marketing, processing and exports, an area that has already been well studied – was thus replaced with a review of global experience in developing successful export-led agricultural industries. Similarly, the study of agricultural ‘cooperation,’ an area also widely studied, was replaced with an analysis of agricultural land markets. Both “cooperation” and land markets are highly pertinent to the need to increase farm size to improve competitiveness. Land markets offer a more structural, long-term response to this problem, however, a response that so far has received little attention. Finally, an analysis of public expenditure on agriculture was added to provide insight into public expenditure on long-term versus short-term sector objectives. The review outlines the elements of a long-term framework based on building a cluster-based, institutional framework for horticultural exports, and suggests the need to prioritize associated development of agricultural extension, food safety, agricultural land markets and agricultural risk management. Horticulture is viewed as a vector for modernization and commercialization, due to its demonstrated potential for exports. The proposed framework would drive growth and change throughout the sector, however, due to the sector-wide impact of support for extension, food safety, land markets and risk management.

Agriculture is a unique sector because of its dependence on the climate and biological variables. Therefore, in agriculture it is vital to identify and evaluate risks to be sure that decisions made on the farm will bring positive results. Scientific literature describes a lot of risk evaluation methods. However it is not easy to see which methods should be used in the agricultural sector. This article describes the main types of risk in agriculture, their features and their relevance with respect to scientific theories. Secondly, it introduces the most popular risk evaluation methods and their potential use in agriculture and finally presents a logical framework of integrated risk evaluation.

In 2004, China began to carry out policy-oriented agricultural insurance pilot experiment. By the end of 2009, the premium income scale of China's agricultural insurance had ranked second in the world and first in Asia. In this article, through in-depth analysis on the experiment background of China's policy-oriented agricultural insurance, the objectives of its implementation are firstly revealed. Secondly, based on clarifying the development process of China's policy-oriented agricultural insurance, we analyze and summarize China's policy-oriented agricultural insurance development effectiveness by taking the realization degree of policy objectives as the evaluation criteria, and also excavate out the main existence and potential problems. Finally, some proposals to perfect the system of China's policy-oriented agricultural insurance are briefly put forward.

The natural hedge is a familiar concept in the agricultural risk literature, but little work has formally examined its size and effect on producer outcomes. In this paper, we systematically measure the impact of the natural hedge on revenue stability over the period 1960-2014. We also test its effect on present-day insurance uptake decisions. As part of the analysis, we propose an alternative measure of the natural hedge that is not subject to the simultaneity of price and yield outcomes. As an initial attempt, we correlate prices with rainfall to obtain a more "natural" natural hedge. From our results, the natural hedge exerts a stabilizing effect on long-run producer revenues, but its impact on insurance decisions is less consistent.

Family farming undeniably appears as a pillar of national food security. It represents nearly 80% of farms in sub-Saharan Africa and employs 75% of assets. In the groundnut basin, family farms generally have an average size between one and five hectares, but they face the various challenges of food security, social equity and environmental sustainability. In addition, they face structural constraints of organizational and economic order in a context of climate uncertainty. Thus, this thesis seeks to understand the strategies used by family farms toward the various risks and alternative proposals from other actors in the sector's development. It is, at once, to identify the main constraints arising farms and strategies they cause to propose additional or alternative strategies in the analysis of the risk management framework. For such an aim, we arrested the concepts of family farm, risk, vulnerability and agricultural insurance to reflect the dimensions of this subject for research. This theoretical and conceptual framework was operationalized on the field within farms, giving a voice to farm managers. Several investigations have been conducted and focused on socio-demographic, structural and technical indicators, principal risks and constraints at the farm level, the perception of agricultural insurance. It appears from this study that the main risks identified are agriculture and climate. Family farms consider access to inputs (fertilizer and seed) and farm equipment as a structural constraint in the rainfall deficit. Also, it appears a significant vulnerability in its three components at farm level Basin. This reflection shows the limits of the strategies developed by the farms to improve their resilience in the context of rained groundnut basin; and justifies the need to go to new complementary strategies. One of the tracks that we have explored is the agricultural index insurance. Its coupling to credit, as collateral to financial institutions and to provide working capital is positively appreciated by the subscribers who, up to 95%, are willing to extend the use of insurance policies., L’agriculture familiale s’affiche indéniablement comme un pilier de la sécurité alimentaire nationale. Elle représente près de 80% des exploitations en Afrique sub-saharienne et emploie 75% des actifs. Dans le Bassin arachidier, les exploitations agricoles familiales ont généralement une superficie moyenne comprise entre un et cinq hectares mais, elles font face aux divers défis de sécurité alimentaire, d’équité sociale et de durabilité environnementale. En outre, elles sont confrontées à des contraintes structurelles d’ordre organisationnel et économique dans un contexte d’incertitude climatique. Ainsi, cette thèse cherche à comprendre les stratégies mises en œuvre par les exploitations familiales face aux différents risques ainsi que les propositions alternatives des autres acteurs du développement du secteur. Il s’agit, à la fois, d’identifier les principales contraintes se posant aux exploitations et les stratégies qu’elles occasionnent pour proposer des stratégies complémentaires ou alternatives dans le cadre d’analyse de la gestion du risque. Pour une telle visée, nous avons appréhendé les concepts d’exploitation agricole familiale, de risque, de vulnérabilité et d’assurance agricole pour prendre en compte les dimensions de cet objet de recherche. Ce cadre théorique et conceptuel a été opérationnalisé sur le terrain au sein d’exploitations agricoles, en donnant la parole aux chefs d’exploitation. Plusieurs enquêtes ont été réalisées et ont porté sur les indicateurs sociodémographiques, structurels et techniques, sur les principaux risques et contraintes au niveau des exploitations, sur la perception de l’assurance agricole. Les principaux risques identifiés sont agricoles et climatiques. Les exploitations agricoles familiales considèrent l’accès aux intrants (engrais et semences) et au matériel agricole comme une contrainte structurelle, en plus du déficit pluviométrique. Aussi, il ressort une vulnérabilité importante dans ses trois composantes au niveau des exploitations agricoles du Bassin. Cette réflexion montre les limites des stratégies développées par les exploitations agricoles pour améliorer leur résilience dans le contexte pluvial du Bassin arachidier ; et justifie la nécessité d’aller vers de nouvelles stratégies complémentaires. L’une des pistes que nous avons explorée est l’assurance indicielle agricole. Son couplage au crédit, comme garantie pour les institutions financières et pour disposer de fonds de roulement, est positivement apprécié par les souscripteurs qui, à hauteur de 95%, sont prêts à prolonger l’utilisation des polices d’assurance.

The variability of the rainfall pattern on the Essequibo Coast can be seen as an agricultural risk. Indigenous and other farmers who produce pineapple in the area operate using an organic methodology, having been certified with the assistance of IICA, and have been traditionally relying on rain-fed conditions to satisfy the moisture requirements of the crops. Since the Essequibo Coast normally experiences two rainy periods on an annual basis, the pineapple farmers have depended upon and used this as a source of water for their cultivation methods. Moisture availability is important to the pineapple plant at critical periods of growth of the crop and deficits or excesses can have detrimental effects on production. This situation was evident owing to the fact that pineapple yields were substandard for a two-harvest period and the crops produced were not accepted for processing by the Mainstay Pineapple Factory, as the fruit from these crops did not satisfy the criteria for processing. The Mainstay Pineapple Factory which depends on local pineapples from the area was not able to satisfy its AMCAR export market to Europe and other countries. The pineapple factory lost important revenue and if the phenomenon continues, it risks losing its market share and foreign exchange income. During the period of review, the rainfall experienced was out of sync with the normal rainfall pattern with moisture not being available at the critical periods as needed for the maturity of the crop. This abnormal pattern of rainfall was to the detriment of two successive pineapple crops. The fruits produced were smaller and cores larger, being unfit for processing by the factory’s standards. The study reveals that even though there was the production of a smaller crop, the fruits were substandard relative to processing criteria. The reasons were that the rains were not enough during the vegetative state of the pineapple growth, triggering early flowering, just after which the rains came and there was too much water available, leading to vigorous stem growth and large core development which is disadvantageous when the fruit is used for canning.

Agriculture as a business is confronted with many risks due to natural hazards such as drought, flood and windstorm as well as problems of pests and diseases. In order to pave ways for sustainable agriculture and selfsufficiency in food production, there is the need for tailored protection, hence the agricultural risk management component which is “insurance”. This paper examined insurance as a risk management option and also highlighted the sharp practices being played in agricultural insurance industry in Nigeria. The sharp practices denied genuine farmers who suffered great losses the opportunity of benefitting from the insurance claims that can bring them back to business. Measures to stem down the sharp practices such as the elimination or review of the roles of insurance agents and brokers were suggested. The paper advised that anti-corruption agencies in the country should beam their searchlights on the activities in the agricultural insurance industry with a view to curb the nefarious activities of both the clients and the operators.

La présentation porte d'abord sur une présentation de la volatilité des prix, définition et estimation pour les principaux produits agricoles. La seconde partie développe le concept d'efficience des marchés, dans les trois dimensions du marché physique (espace, forme et temps). Le marché de gré à gré, dit OTC en anglais, est décrit dans sa dimension physique puis financière. Les nouveaux instruments d'investissement sur les produits agricoles sont alors introduits pour évoquer la volatilité exogène, souvent appelée volatilité excessive ainsi que les efforts de régulation entrepris depuis le G-20 de 2009. La troisième et dernière partie présente la gestion du risque prix, grâce aux instruments financiers, dont la présentation est développée, et aux assurances agricoles. Le rôle des politiques publiques est finalement évoqué.

Building on the idea that members of religious communities insure each other against some idiosyncratic risks, we argue that religious communities should be more widespread where populations face greater common risk. Our empirical analysis exploits rainfall risk as a source of common agricultural risk in the nineteenth-century United States. We show that a greater share of the population was organized into religious communities in counties with greater rainfall risk. The link between rainfall risk and membership in religious communities is stronger among more agricultural counties and counties exposed to greater rainfall risk during the growing season.

Building on the idea that religious communities provide mutual insurance against some idiosyncratic risks, we argue that religious membership is more valuable in societies exposed to greater common risk. In our empirical analysis we exploit rainfall risk as a source of common economic risk in the nineteenth-century United States and show that religious communities were larger in counties where they faced greater rainfall risk. The link between rainfall risk and the size of religious communities is stronger in counties that were more agricultural, that had lower population densities, or that were exposed to greater rainfall risk during the growing season.

Agricultural risks threaten the poor farmers in the Third World. Based on case studies conducted in rural areas of Ecuador and the inland delta of the Niger, the present study assesses the role played by the selection of farming areas as one of the traditional measures to prevent risks. Dispersion can be used to minimise the most localised risks ; crops are planted to make the best use of natural differences ; the shape and slope of the different plots of land can be used to control damage from water. To check the damage done by animals, a variety of social and spatial measures can be adopted. The conclusions of the study call into question some of the more widely accepted models relating to both the geographic representation and development of rural areas., L'incidence géographique des risques agricoles (une formulation théorique à partir de cas andins et africains) The geographical incidence of agricultural risks (a theoretical formulation based on Andean and African case studies) Yves Poinsot Résumé : Les risques agricoles menacent les paysanneries pauvres du Tiers Monde. A partir d'études de cas empruntés aux campagnes équatoriennes et au delta intérieur du Niger, on étudie le rôle de la mise en espace parmi les mesures traditionnelles de prévention des risques. La dispersion permet de minimiser les plus localisés ; la disposition des cultures valorise les différenciations naturelles ; la composition de formes topographiques ou parcellaires adaptées permet la maîtrise de nuisances liées à l'eau. Le contrôle des dégâts animaux peut emprunter les voies très différenciées d'innovations sociales ou spatiales. Pour le développement comme pour la représentation géographique des espaces ruraux, ces conclusions entraînent une remise en cause de modèles largement diffusés., Poinsot Yves. L'incidence géographique des risques agricoles (une formulation théorique à partir de cas andins et africains). In: Revue de géographie alpine, tome 87, n°3, 1999. pp. 31-50.

The 2014 Farm Bill includes risk management tools as an integral component of national agricultural policy whereas the CAP 2014-2020 seems to include them as an afterthought. While EU principles are sound, policies remain in limbo. They suffer from a double dichotomy: two CAP pillars and two administrative levels for implementation. Ten recommendations are proposed for transforming the current state of limbo for EU agricultural risk management policy into a coherent CAP linked to world markets. They cover (1) EU coordination between public safety nets and private risk management tools, (2) flexible funding with improved reserve funds and precautionary savings, and (3) field tests to take full advantage of the creativity of private-public partnerships and to create an experience curve.

Uninsured risk constrains households in their production decisions in many developing countries. Similarly to crop insurance, employment guarantees can support farmers in managing agricultural production risks. Evidence from representative panel data of Andhra Pradesh, India, suggests that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) reduces households' uncertainty about future income streams because it provides employment opportunities in rural areas independently of weather shocks and crop failure. Because the NREGS makes an ex-post labor supply response to agricultural shocks more efficient, households with access to the NREGS can shift their production towards riskier but also more profitable crops. The observed shifts in agricultural production do considerably raise the profitability of agricultural production and hence the incomes of smallholder farmers. The findings are not driven by changes in the labor or cost intensity of those crops, which supports the idea that the causal mechanism underlying the observed changes is indeed an insurance effect.

Building on the idea that religious communities provide mutual insurance against some idiosyncratic risks, we argue that religious membership is more valuable in societies exposed to greater common risk. In our empirical analysis we exploit rainfall risk as a source of common economic risk in the nineteenth-century United States and show that religious communities were larger in counties where they faced greater rainfall risk. The link between rainfall risk and the size of religious communities is stronger in counties that were more agricultural, that had lower population densities, or that were exposed to greater rainfall risk during the growing season.

The economic literature showed that remittances can replace missing credit and insurance markets. As a result, it is natural to expect that higher amounts of remittances will motivate agricultural farmers to engage in riskier activities. The present study aims to verify the latter hypothesis by answering three distinct questions: do households that receive higher remittances choose to cultivate a riskier crop portfolio, to engage either in crop specialization or in crop diversification and to use riskier input such as fertilizer? I use the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) dataset on Uganda established by the World Bank to test these hypotheses. The results show that higher remittances induce crop specialization and higher probability of fertilizer use.

We consider a political economy where government cares about risk-averse farmers’ loss of income and yet incurs political cost if it provides monetary support to farmers. Government evaluates three options: 1) ex-post disaster aid; 2) ex-ante insurance option with perfect information; 3) ex-ante insurance with imperfect information (farmers are over-confident about their risk). It is assumed that marginal political cost is high enough so that the possibility of monetary support to farmers in the absence of economic loss is ruled out. In comparing 1) and 2), we find that government prefers farmers manage their risks through fairly priced insurance In comparing 1) and 3), if the information problems prevent risk-averse farmers to take up full insurance under actuarially fair rates, government prefers to subsidize farmers’ insurance ex-ante rather than providing disaster aid ex-post (subject to political cost) for a wide range of parameter values.

The experiences gained in the execution of various crop insurance products in India have been described along with the ways to redesign the strategies for effective implementation of such crop insurance products. The study is based on the data collected from 90 farmers covered under National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) in three selected districts in Tamil Nadu, viz. Nagappattinam, Vellore and Madurai and 30 farmers covered under Varsha Bima, a weather-based insurance product in the Nagapattinam district. The major problems in the implementation of NAIS, as indicated by respondents, are: poor awareness about the scheme, delay in settlement of claims, complex procedure, high premium rate and wide variation between yields of actual and crop-cutting experiment farms. In the case of Varsha Bima scheme implemented in the Nagapattinam district, the major problems faced by the farmers are: non – availability of the benefit since the implementation of the scheme, poor awareness about the details of weather insurance schemes, high premium rate and wide variation in rainfall between the farm and the Reference Weather Station. The study has offered several suggestions, based on farmers’ perceptions, to refine the existing crop insurance schemes in India.

It is an undisputed fact that weather risk increases over time due to climate change. However, qualification of this statement with regard to the type of weather risk and geographical location is needed. We investigate the application of novel statistical tools for assessing changes in weather risk over time. We apply local t-test, change point tests and Mann-Kendall test as well as quantile regression to weather risk indicators that are relevant from the viewpoint of agricultural production. Our results show that weather risk follows different pattern depending on the type of risk and the location.

This report is the outcome of assessment and is intended as an advisory note to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to enable them to identify a strategy and potential public investments to improve current risk-management practices in the rice supply chain. This report identifies the major risks facing the rice supply chain, ranks them in terms of their potential impact and frequency, and offers a framework for improving current risk-management practices. The recommendations and findings will provide a basis for follow-up planning work by the Government of Guyana (GoG), the World Bank, and other development partners. The findings and analysis of this initial assessment are based on a methodology designed by the Agricultural Risk Management Team (ARMT) for assessing risks in agricultural supply chains. This report provides an indicative list of potential solutions to address the dominant risks in the rice supply chain; however, the assessment or evaluation of the individual solutions was beyond the scope of this exercise. To ensure the greatest return on future public investments in implementing risk management solutions, GRDB and MoA need to undertake an exhaustive cost-benefit assessment of different options. This will enable MoA to identify and implement the necessary activities to reduce the vulnerability of the rice supply chain in Guyana.

We theoretically examine a farmer’s coverage demand with area and individual insurance plans as either separate or integrated options. The individual and area losses are assumed to be imperfectly and positively correlated. With actuarially fair rates, the farmer will fully insure with the individual plan and demand no area insurance regardless of the plans being separate or integrated. Under separate plans, free area insurance and the fair rate for individual insurance, area insurance replaces a portion of individual insurance demand. Under integrated plans, free area insurance, and the fair rate for individual insurance, the farmer will over-insure with individual plan and demand additional area insurance.

El propósito de este artículo es demostrar que los derivados¹ de clima pueden ser empleados como una forma de cobertura o seguro agrícola contra eventos específicos inesperados de clima en un mercado incompleto.² La transferencia del riesgo al mercado es una manera efectiva de cubrirse frente a riesgos de diversa naturaleza. Se examina un modelo analítico, así como la valoración pricing de derivados de clima en la región j en Colombia. Se utilizarán datos históricos de la región antes mencionada, para evaluar la relación entre la productividad agrícola de los productos Pr x, Pr y, Pr z y eventos de clima específicos de clima R lluvia o precipitación y H temperatura. Posteriormente, se examinan una variedad de opciones de compra y venta call y put basados en riesgos climáticos de calor y lluvia para evaluarlos teóricamente. Este estudio profundiza específicamente sobre el modelo analítico, para escuchar reacciones de los gremios y de la academia. El presente estudio se enmarca en el campo de las finanzas sobre riesgo y clima. El primer documento se presentó en el Simposio Internacional de Costa Rica a principios de 2009, donde obtuvo premio en su sesión por mejor artículo y se incluyó los lineamientos conceptuales, para construir un modelo de valoración de un derivado de clima (Cruz, J. y Vargas, C. 2008). Aquí, como se dijo, se hace una especificación analítica y al nivel de modelo, con una innovación respecto al modelo que se presentó inicialmente. The purpose of the present article is to prove that climate by-products can be used as agricultural insurance protection against climate unexpected, particular events in an incomplete market. Transferring risk to the market is an effective way of having protection when facing risks of diverse nature. An analytical model, as well as climate by-product pricing in the j region of Colombia, has been examined. Historical data of the region above mentioned in order to evaluate the relationship between agricultural productivity of Pr x, Pr y, Prz products and specific climate events such as R -rain or atmospheric precipitation- and H -temperature. Later on, a variety of call and put options will be considered based on heat and rain climatic risks in order to evaluate them theoretically. This paper thoroughly and particularly studies the analytical model in order to listen to the response from labor federations and academic groups. The present study has been framed within the field of risk and climate. The first document was presented at the International Symposium of Costa Rica in early 2009, where it obtained first place as best article in its session. At the time, conceptual guidelines were included to build an evaluation model for a climate by-product (Cruz, J. and Vargas, C. 2008). As mentioned earlier, this paper contains an analytical specification at model level, including an innovation to the model presented initially. Le propos de cet article est de démontrer que les dérivés climatiques peuvent être utilisés comme un mécanisme, une assurance agricole, pour se prémunir contre des manifestations spécifiques inattendues du climat dans un marché incomplet. Le transfert du risque au marché est une manière effective de se protéger face aux risques de diverses natures. On étudie un modèle analytique, ainsi que le coût -pricing- des dérivés climatiques dans une région j en Colombie. On utilise des relevés historiques de la région mentionnée pour évaluer la relation entre la productivité agricole des produits Pr x, Pr y et les manifestations particulières du climat R -précipitations- et H -température. Est étudiée ensuite une variété d'options d'achat et vente -call and put- basées sur les risques climatiques de chaleur et pluies pour les évaluer théoriquement. Cette étude approfondit en particulier le modèle analytique pour écouter les réactions des corporations et de l'université. Cette présente étude se situe dans le domaine des financements sur le risque et le climat. Le premier document a été présenté au Symposium international du Costa Rica début 2009, où il a obtenu un prix comme meilleur article et a été inclus aux lignes conceptuelles, pour construire un modèle d'évaluation des coûts d'un dérivé climatique (Cruz, J. et Vargas, C., 2008). Dans le cas présent, il s'agit d'une spécification analytique et de l'introduction d'une innovation par rapport au modèle présenté initialement.

O seguro rural é um dos mais importantes instrumentos para o desenvolvimento do setor agrícola, pois, ao permitir proteção ao produtor rural contra efeitos adversos de eventos ambientais e do mercado torna-se indispensável à estabilidade da renda, à geração de emprego e ao desenvolvimento tecnológico. No setor agrícola, além do risco de mercado, existem diversas outras fontes que a tornam uma atividade eminentemente arriscada. A principal delas se refere ao fato de que a atividade agrícola é altamente dependente de condições ambientais de difícil controle pelo homem de modo que as variáveis climáticas e sua interação com fatores bióticos podem influenciar sobremaneira o resultado final da safra. A realidade histórica mostra que o seguro agrícola permite ao produtor rural manter sua renda na ocorrência de um sinistro, o que é fundamental para o do setor agrícola e a sociedade em geral. Contudo, o mercado de seguro agrícola brasileiro é insipiente e demandando reestruturação com intensa participação do setor privado e coordenado pelo do setor público.------------------------------------------------------Highly instrumental in the development of the agricultural sector insofar as it protects farmers from adverse weather and market conditions, agricultural insurance also plays a crucial role not only in income and employment generation, but also in technological advancements. Besides market risks, the agricultural sector is confronted with a wide spectrum of other risks, which makes agriculture an eminently risky enterprise. Chief among these risks is the high dependence of the agricultural activity on hard to control weather-driven events, so that natural environmental variability and its interaction with biotic factors can greatly affect crop yields. The historical reality shows that agricultural insurance allows that rural producer maintain the income level in the occurrence of a casualty, which is important to the agricultural sector and the society. However, the Brazilian agricultural insurance market is at a generally incipient stage and in urgent need of a restructuring involving intense participation of the private sector and coordination by the public sector.

O seguro rural apresenta-se com um instrumento para o desenvolvimento do setor agrícola, protegendo o produtor rural dos efeitos adversos de eventos ambientais e do mercado tornando-se indispensável à estabilidade da renda, à geração de emprego e ao desenvolvimento tecnológico. Nesse sentido, sugere-se a consideração de um conjunto de indicadores que podem influir positivamente no processo de mitigação dos riscos inerentes ao seguro rural agrícola. Dessa forma, propõe-se o desenvolvimento de um Modelo Integrado de Gestão do Risco Agrícola para o Brasil (MIGRA) para o Brasil, um país que, além da heterogeneidade setorial, tem sua economia fortemente calcada no setor agrícola, o qual também é bastante heterogêneo quanto à produção e a renda agrícola. Esse modelo deve enfatizar a mitigação do risco no setor com base em um sistema de informação disponível para todos os segmentos do setor agrícola. A ênfase do MIGRA deve ser na redução da informação imperfeita e da assimetria de informação. Ainda, o MIGRA deverá considerar a diversidade dos sistemas de produção existentes no território nacional, notadamente quanto ao tamanho (pequeno e grande produtor segundo o capital) e o modo de exploração (agricultura patronal, empresarial ou não, e agricultura familiar).----------------------------------------------Highly instrumental in the development of the agricultural sector insofar as it protects farmers from adverse weather and market conditions, agricultural insurance also plays a crucial role not only in income and employment generation, but also in technological advancements. In this way, suggests the consideration of a group of indicators to agro-insurance. Thus this work proposes the development of an Integrated Agricultural Risk Management Model for Brazil (MIGRA), a country which, in addition to its sectorial heterogeneity, has its economy strongly based on an also heterogeneous the agricultural sector, concerning production types and agricultural income levels. Such model should emphasize risk mitigation in the sector through an information system available to all segments of the agricultural sector. The major focus of the MIGRA must be on the reduction of imperfect information and information asymmetry. Also, the MIGRA shall take into consideration the diversity of production systems extant in the national territory, notably with regards to the size (small and large producers according to capital intensity) and means of exploration (employer agriculture, entrepreneurial or not, and family agriculture).

O seguro agrícola é um dos mais importantes instrumentos para o desenvolvimento do setor agrícola, pois, ao permitir proteção ao produtor rural contra efeitos adversos de eventos ambientais e do mercado torna-se indispensável à estabilidade da renda, à geração de emprego e ao desenvolvimento tecnológico. No setor agrícola, além do risco de mercado, existem diversas outras fontes que a tornam uma atividade eminentemente arriscada. A principal delas se refere ao fato de que a atividade agrícola é altamente dependente de condições ambientais de difícil controle pelo homem, de modo que as variáveis climáticas e sua interação com fatores bióticos podem influenciar sobremaneira o resultado final da safra. A realidade histórica mostra que o seguro agrícola permite ao produtor rural manter sua renda na ocorrência de um sinistro, o que é fundamental para o setor agrícola e a sociedade em geral. Made available in DSpace on 2012-02-01T00:01:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RBRS8.pdf: 977659 bytes, checksum: 3c66c0c5192f10e9c5e933c9be3fe3c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-01-31

This paper investigates the relationship between weather events and agricultural risks. Specific event risks are defined by outcomes related to a specific event such as low temperature and rainfall. Using Ontario data this paper describes specific events and shows how these specific events can be insured using weather derivatives and insurance.

Risk management of crop related exposures in coastal regions can be enhanced through a program of hazards modeling and real-time forecasting. As one component in the yield distribution of selected crops, typhoon-related hazards are a critical factor. Natural typhoon occurrence rates accentuate the extreme parts of the yield distribution, causing severe and correlated financial disruptions to invested interests. This paper outlines a suite of techniques focused on building a probabilistic understanding of crop risk from tropical cyclones. Several foundational technologies are discussed, including: Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) of tropical cyclones; statistical consensus forecast models, such as the WeatherPredict Superensemble™; and the application of flood modeling techniques to typhoon landfall scenarios.

The agricultural development policy of Indonesian government has been to achieve self-sufficiency in rice. However, rice production growth is critical to increase availability, accessibility, and affordability following the impact of global climate change. The farmers have continued to face rice production risk and harvesting failure. Insurance is introduced in favor of farmers to protect rice farm from great loss caused by flood, drought and pest and diseaseinfestations. A pilot program is formulated to obtain knowledge about insurance application. Rice farm insurance scheme would successfully work with three-way coordination active roles of the government, the farmers and the insurance company.

Remarks dealing with the role of information in dealing with risk and uncertainty in agricultur