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Betting the Farm? Agricultural Risks in Brazil

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Publication date
14/04/2009
Number of Pages
8
Language:
English
Type of Publication:
Studies
Focus Region:
Latin America & the Caribbean
Focus Topic:
Climate / Weather / Environment
Market / Trade
Type of Risk:
Market-related
Weather & Climate related
Type of Risk Managment Option:
Risk reduction/mitigation
Commodity:
Crops
Author
Anne G. Murphy
Organization
The World Bank

The main risks Brazilian farmers faced include drought and excessive rainfall, in addition to volatile market prices for their inputs and the crops and livestock they produce. Despite the obvious need for robust financial risk management, however, insurance penetration in Brazil is relatively low. Potential solutions include building awareness among famers, strengthening the capacity of local insurers and developing a robust agricultural insurance framework under the lead of the public sector. The report provides a brief overview of selected agricultural regions in Brazil and the main features of the farms surveyed, summarizing the main results of the survey and examining particular features of the agricultural insurance framework in Brazil. The report concludes with a set of proposals to make agricultural insurance more attractive to farmers and help the agricultural sector in Brazil achieve its full potential.