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[EN] The areas in which the teosinte has been found in Spain are those with the largest acreage planted with genetically modified maize, the Bt maize expressing Cry1Ab toxin used to control the pests Sesamia nonagrioides and Ostrinia nubilalis, known as borers. The close relation between maize and teosinte allows their crossing and the expression of the toxin in the hybrids. The production of the toxin at sub-lethal levels for the borers could lead to an earlier development of resistance. In this work, the potential hybridisation between teosinte found in Spain as the female parent and Bt maize as the male parent was determined. Furthermore, a phenological monitoring of the vegetative (plant height, stem area and number of leaves) and reproductive stages (days to flowering) of the hybrids and their parents has been carried out, while the Cry1Ab toxin produced have been quantified by ELISA. The experiments were carried out during three years under non-controlled environmental conditions. Hybrids were only obtained in one of the years, at percentages ranging from 0% to 72%. The hybrids showed a phenotype intermediate to that of the parents for the parameters evaluated. Environmental conditions influenced the production of Cry1Ab toxin in the F1 hybrids, which ranged from 36.4-48.8 ng Cry1Ab/mg fresh leaf, depending on the year. These values were of 46.8-51.4 for maize, [ES] Las áreas donde se ha identificado la presencia de teosinte en España son aquellas con la mayor superficie cultivada con maíz modificado genéticamente, maíz Bt que expresa la toxina Cry1Ab para el control de las plagas Sesamia nonagrioides y Ostrinia nubilalis, denominadas taladros. El parentesco entre maíz y teosinte permite su cruzamiento y la expresión de toxina en los híbridos. Una producción de toxina a niveles subletales para los taladros podría dar lugar a una aceleración en el desarrollo de resistencia. En este trabajo se ha determinado el potencial de hibridación entre el teosinte localizado en España como parental femenino y el maíz Bt como parental masculino. Además, se ha realizado un seguimiento fenológico de las etapas vegetativas (altura, área del tallo, número de hojas y tallos secundarios) y reproductiva (días hasta la floración) de los híbridos y de sus parentales y, se han cuantificado los niveles de toxina Cry1Ab en las plantas mediante ELISA. Los ensayos se han realizado durante tres años en condiciones ambientales no controladas. Sólo en uno de los años se conguió obtener híbridos en porcentajes que variaron de 0% al 72%. Los híbridos presentaron un fenotipo intermedio al de los parentales para los parámetros evaluados. Las condiciones ambientales influyeron en la concentración de toxina Cry1Ab producida por los los híbridos F1 que varió entre 36,4-48,8 ng Cry1Ab/mg de hoja fresca en función del año, siendo estos valores de 46,8-51,4 para el maíz.

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.

Agriculture is critical to economic prosperity of Nigeria and to a large extent, the economic wellbeing of Africa. However, this paper evaluated the judgments of farmers regarding agricultural insurance on the basis of their behavioural metrics, participatory influences, and demand-side barriers in Nigeria. The study employed descriptive cross- sectional design coupled with survey approach. A structured questionnaire was developed in Google form and posted electronically via the WhatsApp created to which registered farmers were added. This study, therefore, captured the thoughts, experiences, and observations of the selected farmers in Nigeria. This study found that farmers’ desires and patronage toward agricultural insurance policies had been positively initiated in terms of awareness, knowledge, and preference for agricultural insurance, while negatively affected in terms of their experiences. Thus, while the farmers’ genders are unimportant, farmers’ family sizes, and farmers’ ages were both slightly important, farmers’ formal education and experiences were considered moderate influencers, access to credit and insurance experts showed the highest probability of importance to farmers’ participations in agricultural insurance. Conclusively, the unavailability of government subsidies to farmers affirmed strongly that 68.8 percent stand out as the greatest barrier to demand for agricultural insurance. This study suggests that tailored-made agricultural insurance policies which embed access to low interest credit facilities from agricultural bank be designed to boost farmers’ economics of scale in Nigeria.

Agriculture is critical to economic prosperity of Nigeria and to a large extent, the economic wellbeing of Africa. However, this paper evaluated the judgments of farmers regarding agricultural insurance on the basis of their behavioural metrics, participatory influences, and demand-side barriers in Nigeria. The study employed descriptive cross- sectional design coupled with survey approach. A structured questionnaire was developed in Google form and posted electronically via the WhatsApp created to which registered farmers were added. This study, therefore, captured the thoughts, experiences, and observations of the selected farmers in Nigeria. This study found that farmers’ desires and patronage toward agricultural insurance policies had been positively initiated in terms of awareness, knowledge, and preference for agricultural insurance, while negatively affected in terms of their experiences. Thus, while the farmers’ genders are unimportant, farmers’ family sizes, and farmers’ ages were both slightly important, farmers’ formal education and experiences were considered moderate influencers, access to credit and insurance experts showed the highest probability of importance to farmers’ participations in agricultural insurance. Conclusively, the unavailability of government subsidies to farmers affirmed strongly that 68.8 percent stand out as the greatest barrier to demand for agricultural insurance. This study suggests that tailored-made agricultural insurance policies which embed access to low interest credit facilities from agricultural bank be designed to boost farmers’ economics of scale in Nigeria.

Index insurance appeared recently in developing countries with the expectation to improve agricultural output and living standards in general. We investigate how experiencing extreme weather events affects farmers’ decision to purchase index insurance in India. Extreme weather events are identified from historical precipitation data and matched with a randomised household panel. Excessive rainfall in previous years during the harvest increases the insurance demand, while lack of rainfall in the planting and growing periods has no effect. The latter can be explained by access to irrigation, underscoring the importance of the local context when developing insurance products to accommodate environmental risks.

Метою статті є відображення взаємозв'язку страхового інтересу та страхового захисту при збалансуванні попиту і пропозиції як визначальної умови подальшого розвитку ринку аграрного страхування. Методологічною основою дослідження були загальнотеоретичні методи наукового пізнання: індуктивний та дедуктивний, абстрактно-логічний, монографічний, проблемний, графічний, системно-структурний і порівняльний аналіз. За результатами дослідження встановлено, що рушійною силою розвитку страхових відносин в аграрній сфері є прояв взаємного майнового інтересу суб’єктів страхового ринку, а також потреба виробників сільськогосподарської продукції в надійному страховому захисті. Представлено логічну послідовність трансформації понять «страховий інтерес» та «страховий захист» у фінансово-економічних взаємовідносинах на страховому ринку. Визначено мотиваційні чинники страхувальників і страховиків щодо конкретизації їхніх інтересів в участі у страховому процесі. Як елемент наукової новизни відображено сукупність страхових інтересів страховиків та страхувальників у контексті збалансування їх фінансово-економічної спроможності до нейтралізації ризиків в аграрній сфері. На основі аналізу динаміки основних показників попиту і пропозиції на ринку аграрного страхування, а також оцінки співвідношення посівних та застрахованих площ у розрізі сільськогосподарських культур встановлено, що вітчизняний ринок аграрного страхування має значний потенціал свого розвитку, особливо за умов поступового збалансування страхових інтересів і відповідальності суб'єктів страхового процесу. Сформульовано пропозиції, спрямовані на встановлення рівноваги між суб'єктами ринку аграрного страхування, як основи для подальшого розвитку з метою максимального забезпечення еквівалентності страхових інтересів його учасників. Реалізація основоположних принципів страхування: страховий інтерес та страховий захист створює необхідні умови для прояву ділової активності суб'єктів аграрного страхування. Досягнення фінансово-економ, Целью статьи является отражение взаимосвязи страхового интереса и страховой защиты при сбалансировании спроса и предложения как определяющего условия дальнейшего развития рынка аграрного страхования. Методологической основой исследования стали общетеоретические методы научного познания: индуктивный и дедуктивный, абстрактно-логический, монографический, проблемный, графический, системно-структурный и сравнительный анализ. По результатам исследования установлено, что движущей силой развития страховых отношений в аграрной сфере является проявление взаимного имущественного интереса субъектов страхового рынка, а также потребность производителей сельскохозяйственной продукции в надежной страховой защите. Представлено логическую последовательность трансформации понятий «страховой интерес» и «страховая защита» в финансово-экономических взаимоотношениях на страховом рынке. Определены мотивационные факторы страхователей и страховщиков по конкретизации их интересов в участии в страховом процессе. Как элемент научной новизны отражено совокупность страховых интересов страховщиков и страхователей в контексте сбалансирования их финансово-экономической состоятельности к нейтрализации рисков в аграрной сфере. На основе анализа динамики основных показателей спроса и предложения на рынке аграрного страхования, а также оценки соотношения посевных и застрахованных площадей в разрезе сельскохозяйственных культур установлено, что отечественный рынок аграрного страхования имеет значительный потенциал своего развития, особенно в условиях последовательного сбалансирования страховых интересов и ответственности субъектов страхового процесса. Сформулированы предложения, направленные на установление равновесия между субъектами рынка аграрного страхования, в качестве основы для дальнейшего развития с целью максимального обеспечения эквивалентности страховых интересов его участников., The aim of the given article is to depict the interrelation of insurance interest and insurance protection under the balance of demand and supply as the main condition for further development of agrarian insurance market. The general theoretical methods of scientific knowledge: inductive and deductive, abstract and logical, monographic, graphical, systematic and structural and comparative analyses became the methodological basis for the investigation. The investigation results have determined the motive forces of the insurance interrelation development in the agrarian sphere. They are mutual property interest of the insurance market subjects and the agricultural producers need in trustworthy insurance protection. The transformation of logical sequence of the term «insurance interest» and «insurance protection» in the financial economical interrelation at the insurance market has been considered. The motivate forces of incurred persons and insurers as for concrete definition of their interests in the insurance process have been determined. The combination of insurance interests insured persons and insurers in the contest of the balancing. Their financial economical ability and risk neutralization in the agrarian sphere has been shown as a new scientific element. On the of the main demand and supply indices dynamics at the agrarian insurance market and also the evaluation of interrelation of area under crops and insured area of crops it has been determined that the domestic market of agrarian insurance has great potential of development, especially under conditions of gradual balancing between the insurance interests and liability of insurance process subjects. The supply directed to the balance between the subjects of agrarian insurance market as the basis for further development with the aim of maximum provision of insurance interest’s equivalence of its participants has been determined.

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.

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.

RIVM rapport: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., New regulatory rules for the assessment and handling of slightly polluted soils will come into force in 2008 in the Netherlands. The web portal www.risicotoolboxbodem.nl initially provides two modules, to assist in the practical risk assessment of polluted soils. The tools are named: 'Consequences Local Maximum Values' and 'Consequences Current Soil Quality'. Both tools specify the risks of soil or sediment contamination as to kind and degree, as compared to the exceedance of generic quality standards. That is: the generic quality identifies whether toxic compounds might pose potential risks for any possible soil use, while the application of the module specifies which soil uses are most at risk, and up till which risk level. The use of the first tool is legally required when local authorities plan to set area-specific soil quality standards. The use of the second tool is not legally required, but it is used when authorities and local inhabitants want a specification of potential risks in cases when generic standards are exceeded. This report forms the model description of the module 'Consequences Local Maximum Values'. It provides the equations that are used in the web portal to specify risks for humans, for agricultural products and for ecosystems. The models as presented to users via the portal have been verified for a large number of compounds by rebuilding them in another application and comparing the results. The models themselves are - in part - representing others bodies of knowledge, such as datasets with model parameters, compound characteristics and toxicity data. These bodies of knowledge themselves have not been verified, since they have been officially reported earlier and elsewhere.

RIVM rapport: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., New regulatory rules for the assessment and handling of slightly polluted soils will come into force in 2008 in the Netherlands. The web portal www.risicotoolboxbodem.nl initially provides two modules, to assist in the practical risk assessment of polluted soils. The tools are named: 'Consequences Local Maximum Values' and 'Consequences Current Soil Quality'. Both tools specify the risks of soil or sediment contamination as to kind and degree, as compared to the exceedance of generic quality standards. That is: the generic quality identifies whether toxic compounds might pose potential risks for any possible soil use, while the application of the module specifies which soil uses are most at risk, and up till which risk level. The use of the first tool is legally required when local authorities plan to set area-specific soil quality standards. The use of the second tool is not legally required, but it is used when authorities and local inhabitants want a specification of potential risks in cases when generic standards are exceeded. This report forms the model description of the module 'Consequences Local Maximum Values'. It provides the equations that are used in the web portal to specify risks for humans, for agricultural products and for ecosystems. The models as presented to users via the portal have been verified for a large number of compounds by rebuilding them in another application and comparing the results. The models themselves are - in part - representing others bodies of knowledge, such as datasets with model parameters, compound characteristics and toxicity data. These bodies of knowledge themselves have not been verified, since they have been officially reported earlier and elsewhere.

RIVM rapport: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., New regulatory rules for the assessment and handling of slightly polluted soils will come into force in 2008 in the Netherlands. The web portal www.risicotoolboxbodem.nl initially provides two modules, to assist in the practical risk assessment of polluted soils. The tools are named: 'Consequences Local Maximum Values' and 'Consequences Current Soil Quality'. Both tools specify the risks of soil or sediment contamination as to kind and degree, as compared to the exceedance of generic quality standards. That is: the generic quality identifies whether toxic compounds might pose potential risks for any possible soil use, while the application of the module specifies which soil uses are most at risk, and up till which risk level. The use of the first tool is legally required when local authorities plan to set area-specific soil quality standards. The use of the second tool is not legally required, but it is used when authorities and local inhabitants want a specification of potential risks in cases when generic standards are exceeded. This report forms the model description of the module 'Consequences Local Maximum Values'. It provides the equations that are used in the web portal to specify risks for humans, for agricultural products and for ecosystems. The models as presented to users via the portal have been verified for a large number of compounds by rebuilding them in another application and comparing the results. The models themselves are - in part - representing others bodies of knowledge, such as datasets with model parameters, compound characteristics and toxicity data. These bodies of knowledge themselves have not been verified, since they have been officially reported earlier and elsewhere.