6.3. Future outlook
Although our results indicate farmer-specificity of perceptions, useful insights for advisers, policymakers, and developers and sellers of (new) risk management strategies appear from the research. Tests for internal validity of the models support this. For example, we found that dairy farmers perceive ‘a certain income’ as an important risk management strategy. Advisers may anticipate on this by providing the needed education and infrastructure in these fields.
The insight that pig farmers perceive diversification as a relevant risk management strategy may help policymakers in combating current environmental problems in the pig sector.
We found that farmers perceive the risks they take themselves as less serious than those taken by other farmers. This may be relevant for insurers; such perceptions may reduce farmers’ interest in insurance schemes since farmers may have the feeling that they are paying for the risks taken by others. Risk classification and premium differentiation based on objective and transparent measures of risk may reduce such problems.
The insight that there is a direct relationship between the perceived importance of insurance and the risk factor ‘legislation’ may be an incentive for insurers to develop insurance products in the areas from which governments are (financially) withdrawing. An insurance for epidemic disease risks may be such an example.
Results indicate that there is a mismatch between farmers’ perceptions of price risks and the perceived importance of risk management strategies to deal with price risks. In particular, futures markets were not perceived to be relevant. Research is needed to clarify whether there is a lack of understanding by farmers of currently available strategies such as futures trading, or whether current products do not fulfil farmers’ needs. In the first case there is a need for education. In the second case current products may need to be adapted and/or new products developed. Price insurance may be one of the alternatives.
If people working in the field of risk and risk management are going to use similar studies, they have to note that results reflect farmers’ perceptions of risk management strategies, which is not necessarily the same as the extent to which they would actually adopt such strategies.
7. Conclusions
Our goal was to obtain empirical insight into farmers’ perceptions of risk and risk management, and into variables relating to these perceptions. From our questionnaire survey we obtained these insights for a large group of farmers. Results presented are those of professional livestock farms, and are hence not completely representative for the average Dutch livestock farmer.
In general, price and production risks were perceived as important sources of risk. Insurance (both commercial insurance and ‘on-farm’ insurance such as producing at lowest possible costs and applying strict hygienic rules) was perceived as a relevant strategy to manage risks. More detailed analyses of the perceptions show that dairy farmers generally saw price risks (and other financial risks) as very important, while pig and mixed farmers were more likely to rank production risks as very important. We found that insurance was perceived relatively less important by mixed farmers than by other farmers. Results provide useful insights for policymakers, advisers, and developers and sellers of (new) risk management strategies.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Dutch livestock farmers for their cooperation in this research project. Help from George F. Patrick of Purdue University and Mirella van den Berg and Sandra van der Kroon of the Wageningen University in developing the questionnaire is appreciated. NV Interpolis Tilburg is acknowledged for providing the financial capacity to carry out this research. The authors furthermore acknowledge the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for financing a visiting scholarship for a two-months period to the University of New England (Australia) during which the analyses for this paper were carried out.
6.3. Future outlookAlthough our results indicate farmer-specificity of perceptions, useful insights for advisers, policymakers, and developers and sellers of (new) risk management strategies appear from the research. Tests for internal validity of the models support this. For example, we found that dairy farmers perceive ‘a certain income’ as an important risk management strategy. Advisers may anticipate on this by providing the needed education and infrastructure in these fields.The insight that pig farmers perceive diversification as a relevant risk management strategy may help policymakers in combating current environmental problems in the pig sector.We found that farmers perceive the risks they take themselves as less serious than those taken by other farmers. This may be relevant for insurers; such perceptions may reduce farmers’ interest in insurance schemes since farmers may have the feeling that they are paying for the risks taken by others. Risk classification and premium differentiation based on objective and transparent measures of risk may reduce such problems.The insight that there is a direct relationship between the perceived importance of insurance and the risk factor ‘legislation’ may be an incentive for insurers to develop insurance products in the areas from which governments are (financially) withdrawing. An insurance for epidemic disease risks may be such an example.Results indicate that there is a mismatch between farmers’ perceptions of price risks and the perceived importance of risk management strategies to deal with price risks. In particular, futures markets were not perceived to be relevant. Research is needed to clarify whether there is a lack of understanding by farmers of currently available strategies such as futures trading, or whether current products do not fulfil farmers’ needs. In the first case there is a need for education. In the second case current products may need to be adapted and/or new products developed. Price insurance may be one of the alternatives.If people working in the field of risk and risk management are going to use similar studies, they have to note that results reflect farmers’ perceptions of risk management strategies, which is not necessarily the same as the extent to which they would actually adopt such strategies.7. ConclusionsOur goal was to obtain empirical insight into farmers’ perceptions of risk and risk management, and into variables relating to these perceptions. From our questionnaire survey we obtained these insights for a large group of farmers. Results presented are those of professional livestock farms, and are hence not completely representative for the average Dutch livestock farmer.In general, price and production risks were perceived as important sources of risk. Insurance (both commercial insurance and ‘on-farm’ insurance such as producing at lowest possible costs and applying strict hygienic rules) was perceived as a relevant strategy to manage risks. More detailed analyses of the perceptions show that dairy farmers generally saw price risks (and other financial risks) as very important, while pig and mixed farmers were more likely to rank production risks as very important. We found that insurance was perceived relatively less important by mixed farmers than by other farmers. Results provide useful insights for policymakers, advisers, and developers and sellers of (new) risk management strategies.AcknowledgementsThe authors wish to thank the Dutch livestock farmers for their cooperation in this research project. Help from George F. Patrick of Purdue University and Mirella van den Berg and Sandra van der Kroon of the Wageningen University in developing the questionnaire is appreciated. NV Interpolis Tilburg is acknowledged for providing the financial capacity to carry out this research. The authors furthermore acknowledge the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for financing a visiting scholarship for a two-months period to the University of New England (Australia) during which the analyses for this paper were carried out.
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