The 2007-2008 food crisis and current food price swings led economists to re-evaluate the potential for policy instruments to manage food price volatility. Many developing countries recently pursued price regulation policies, but the difficulties of these policies in promoting price stability is...

This paper describes farmer’s exposures to risks at the individual farm level and develops a model representing the decisions of an individual risk averse farmer facing variability in both prices and yields. A set of stylised risk market instruments is represented. The model is calibrated...

After the introduction of the new tobacco regime, many regions in Greece, formerly specialized in tobacco cultivation, are now facing serious threats of economic and social decline. Sheep farming is considered by many analysts as a viable alternative to tobacco. This study analyses the financial...

The aim of this paper is to explore possible measures to assess welfare changes resulting from alternative risk communication policies drawing on previous work on welfare losses due to incorrect risk perceptions. A review of the literature analysing models of risk information processing point...

In recent years, international grain markets have been exposed to considerable price volatility which was partly caused by supply shocks driven by extreme climate events affecting major grain exporters. In addition, a number of exporting countries resorted to distortive trade measures in the...

On the example of a commercial microfinance institution (MFI) in Tanzania this paper investigates first whether agricultural firms have a different probability to get a loan and whether their loans are differently volume rationed than loans to non-agricultural firms. Second, we analyze whether...

This paper applies an integrated CGE-microsimulation model to analyse the impact of the 2006-08 increase in commodity prices on Uganda. Previous impact analysis studies suggested that the food price shock increased poverty in Uganda as there are more net food buyer than net food seller...

The availability of enabling institutions, information systems and infrastructure is a precondition to enhance agricultural markets’ efficiency, and make market actors less vulnerable to price instability. This paper investigates whether the focus on institutional and technological upgrading...

International development organisations, through partnerships with local insurance companies, have been promoting weather index based insurance (WIBI) in developing countries. Due to lower operational costs, they expect shorter pay-off period, often overlooking high initial design costs....

Empirical evidence on developing countries shows on the one hand that rich farm-households are more keen to adopt new technologies and are higher risk takers than poor households. On the other hand, however, they are shown to be less vulnerable to income shocks than poor farmers. This paper...