Abstract

Farmers around the world face and manage a wide range of enterprise-related risks. These risks are increasing due to a range of factors including globalisation, increased trade in agricultural products, and climate change, jeopardising agricultural enterprises and forcing farmers to adjust their production and management strategies. Here we present results of a systematic literature review, following PRISMA protocol, of farmers’ perceptions of, and responses to, agricultural risks. Using data reduction method (factor analysis) and descriptive statistics, we analysed 197 studies and found that weather-related risk (55%), biosecurity threats (48%), and human risk (35%) are the significant risks perceived by farmers for their agricultural enterprises. Diversification of crop and animal production (28%) and pests and diseases monitoring and prevention (20%) were the preferred agricultural risk management strategies employed by farmers. Few studies have investigated socio-economic factors that explain risk perceptions (18%) or factors that influence how farmers manage agricultural risks (11%). The main barriers to successfully managing agricultural risks were limited access to information and formal low-interest loan systems, especially in developing countries. We identified a mismatch between perceived risk sources and risk management strategies, highlighting a need to improve understanding of why particular management responses are employed to address the various risks. This review suggests areas for future research to improve understanding of the perceptions of risks held by farmers, and to support efforts to manage and reduce these risks.

Highlights

  • Agricultural enterprise has always been at risk from factors such as pest and disease attack, uncontrollable weather events and market variability [1,2,3]

  • The aims of this study are, to review the existing literature to identify (1) the major sources of agricultural risks perceived by farmers, (2) common risk management strategies employed by farmers, (3) linkages between risk sources and risk management strategies, (4) socio-economic factors that affect farmers’ perceptions and management strategies, and (5) the barriers to the management of agricultural risks

  • Articles were included in this review, if they discussed (i) risk sources perceived by farmers or management strategies, (ii) farmers’ management strategies, (iii) socio-economic factors affecting risk sources perceived by farmers or management strategies, (iv) any general barriers farmers perceived when operating farming enterprises, and (v) were written in English and peer-reviewed

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Summary

Introduction

Agricultural enterprise has always been at risk from factors such as pest and disease attack, uncontrollable weather events and market variability [1,2,3]. Sources of agricultural risks have previously been classified into price or market risk (output and input price fluctuation, market shocks), financial risk (loans and credits), production risk (weather-related risk, pests and diseases (biosecurity threats), technology change, yields), institutional risk (regulations, legal, environment and tax policy), and human resource risk (physical and mental health) [7,8]. Farmers’ management response to risks is influenced by their perceptions of the risk concerned [9]. Based on how they perceive risks, farmers implement a wide range of strategies to limit the impacts of Agriculture 2019, 9, 10; doi:10.3390/agriculture9010010 www.mdpi.com/journal/agriculture

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