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...

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...

The European dairy industry faces an increasingly uncertain world. There is uncertainty about, for example, subsidy payment levels and compliance conditions, global competition, price variability, consumer demand, carbon footprints, water quality, animal welfare, food safety, and the...

Agricultural insurance in Ukraine is mostly offered on the basis of traditional products including PMCI, named perils and single peril coverage. The index concept was introduced in 2001 though until 2005 the insurance companies provided index crop insurance through area-based yield index...

Replaced with revised version of paper 10/18/07.

Global and climate changes influence the basic conditions for agriculture and so there is not only a demand for a consequent climate protection but also for an adaptation of agriculture to these global changing conditions. For the whole "Maerkisch-Oderland" district (60x40 km) within the moraine...