Introduction to Risk
There are many dimensions to risk. By all accounts, farming is a risky occupation. Production risk arises because crop success is inextricably linked to complex physical and biological processes that can only be partly controlled by farmers. Inadequate rainfall or severe pest infestations can result in substantial reductions in crop yields or even total crop loss. Farming is also physically demanding, subjecting farmers to a variety of health risks. Handling livestock and farm equipment can result in acute or debilitating physical injury or death. Exposure to farm chemicals can lead to acute and chronic health problems or death. Once the harvest is in, surplus production faces the vagaries of agricultural markets, which are now more than ever influenced by world events, such as large global crop surpluses or small carryover stocks. Of primary concern to the HarvestChoice project is how risk and particularly production risk affects the world’s poorest farmers who struggle to produce enough for subsistence often without the benefit of modern equipment, chemicals, and know how.
 | Hurley, T.M. “A Review of Agricultural Production Risk in the Developing World.” HarvestChoice Working Paper. St Paul: HarvestChoice, University of Minnesota, June 24, 2010. |
