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The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is an area-based crop yield insurance scheme, which has been implemented in the state of Odisha in Eastern India since Kharif 2016. The study is based on a field survey conducted in the Bolangir district in Western Odisha. A total of 160 households comprising 80 loanee and 80 non-loanee PMFBY users were interviewed with predesigned questionnaires. This study identifies major risk factors confronted by the farmers in the study area and evaluates the effectiveness of PMFBY in addressing such risks. The farmers in the study area reported drought as the major risk factor that they face in agriculture. They consider adoption of crop insurance, off-farm employment and maintenance of credit reserves as important tools that had the most potential to manage risk. The study reveals that most of the farmers were dissatisfied with PMFBY due to delays in compensation payment, large loss assessing unit, and individual, independent risk not being covered under the scheme. For improving its operational efficiency, they put forth some important suggestions, such as: incorporating more cash crops under the scheme, individual assessment of crop loss and quick settlement of claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The effects of climate change are likely to increase the frequency of flood, drought, and salinity events in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, posing many challenges for agrarian communities. Sustainable intensification in the form of improved agricultural management practices and new technologies may help farmers cope with stress and adapt to changing conditions. In this study, we explore how climate change perceptions of agricultural risk affect adaptation to climate change through technology adoption in a unique landscape: the polders of Bangladesh. In 2016, a survey was conducted in 1003 households living on these artificial, leveed islands facing the Bay of Bengal. We analyzed the responses from polder residents to construct a climate risk index which quantifies climate risk perception in this highly vulnerable agrarian landscape. We analyzed how polder demographics influence their perceptions about climatic change using seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). Further, by using three bivariate probit regression models, we estimated how the perception of climate risk drives the differential adoption of new agricultural technologies. Our findings show that farmers perceive polder agriculture as highly vulnerable to four environmental change factors: flooding, drought, salinity, and pest infestation. The SUR model suggests that farmer demographics, community group memberships, and access to different inputs and services strongly influence climatic risk perceptions. Findings also suggest that polder farmers with higher risk perceptions have a higher propensity to adopt both chemical and mechanical adaptation strategies. Cost, however, limits the ability of farmers to adopt improved technologies, suggesting an opportunity for institution-led approaches. • Farmers perceive polder agriculture as highly vulnerable to four environmental change factors. • Polder farmers experience substantial yield losses from climatic events. • Perceptions of climate risk affect the adoption of chemical and mechanical agricultural technologies. • Community group participation increases the likelihood of adopting sustainable intensification practices. • Farmer networks play a strong role in climate change adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an accelerated pace of globalisation and trade liberalisation, both production and price risks in agriculture seem to have increased substantially. Governments are now exploring the ways of managing these joint risks by introducing innovative farm income/revenue insurance products. To take care of the variability in both the yield and the market price, Government of India implemented a pilot project, viz. Farm Income Insurance Scheme (FIIS) during Rabi 2003-04 season and Kharif 2004 season. The major objective of the scheme was to protect farm income and ensure sustainable production. However, in the area under FIIS, procurement of food grains with Minimum Support Prices (MSP) was withdrawn with an aim to resolve the problem of excess stock with Food Corporation of India (FCI). Most of the states were not keen to implement the scheme as the withdrawal of MSP based procurement was not acceptable to them, since MSP was acting as a safety net universally for all the farmers during adverse price situation. However, the paper argues that farm income/revenue insurance provides a market-based solution and entitles the insured with compensation in the event of revenue loss caused by non-preventable risks. Therefore, there is a need to offer farm income/ revenue insurance along with cropyield and rainfall insurance to stabilise the farm income and promote commercialisation of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University. Humanities & Social Sciences / Zhejiang Daxue Xuebao is the property of Zhejiang University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

While agricultural risk and risk perception has received significant attention in the literature, few studies have explored the factors that influence the way farmers respond to particular risks. This paper uses the case of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), one of the most significant risks currently facing the English cattle farming industry, to explore these factors, with a particular focus on the role of social networks. A large scale postal survey distributed to beef and dairy farmers in the south west of England provides representative data which are subjected to factor and cluster analysis in order explore farmer views towards and responses to disease risk. Two groups of farmers are identified which can be distinguished from each other based on their attitudes towards bTB and the nature of their social networks. Farmers with wider, more externally focussed social networks are found to be more resilient than those whose social networks are restricted to family members and other farmers. However, while differences between the two groups are found in terms of their attitudes towards bTB, no differences are found in relation to their risk management behaviour, with few farmers taking clear action to reduce the risk of their herds contracting the disease. In order to address the identified disconnection between attitudes and behaviour, a number of potential interventions are put forward and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 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. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]