In India, agricultural risks are exacerbated by a variety of factors, ranging from weather variability, frequent natural disasters, uncertainties in yields and prices, weak rural infrastructure, imperfect markets and inadequate and sub-optimal financial services. These factors not only endanger the livelihoods and incomes of small farmers but also undermine the viability of the agriculture sector and its potential to become a part of the solution to the problem of the endemic poverty of farmers.
This paper presents a comprehensive set of agriculture risk management tools and policies provided within a global framework by both the public and private sectors in India, while specifying the role and limits of every tool implemented. The presentation is a wide overview of agriculture risk management policies in India and demonstrates high synergy with other sector policies.
In addition, this paper illustrates a serious effort of adaptive policy making by using an iterative approach in the experiences of piloting innovative risk management tools.