Simultaneous adoption of risk management strategies to manage the catastrophic risk of maize farmers in Bangladesh

Abstract

Risk and uncertainty are distinctive features of agricultural cultivation, which significantly affect the production and income. Risk management is an important way for farmers to reduce uncertainty. But little literature is available on simultaneous adoption of different risk management strategies and the possible correlations and impact. This study surveyed 350 maize farmers in four different agro-ecological districts in Bangladesh through stratified random sampling and explored the impacts of social and farm features, farmers’ perceptions about catastrophic risk and their attitude towards risk sources, and the possible correlations among contract farming, diversification and agricultural credit as for risk management strategies by employing multivariate probit model. The results confirmed the correlation among the adoptions of different risk management strategies and revealed that a single risk management strategy could encourage farmers to adopt another one or two risk management strategies simultaneously. Furthermore, the findings explored that age, educational status, extension contact, monthly family income, farm size, farmland ownership, and farmers’ risk-averse nature were the most influencing factors for risk management strategies adopted. Also, the findings from the multivariate probit model provided further interpretations and information which will help in a better understanding of farmer’s behavior about managing different catastrophic risks and will give a platform for policymakers to anticipate suitable risk management strategies for farmers.