Glossary

It is a single or a series of actions taken to provide humanitarian relief in a disaster situation. There are a variety of approaches used, such as direct cash transfers and debt forgiveness. Ad hoc disaster responses are generally inefficient and unreliable as they are subject to budget availability of decision makers and ad hoc rules for those who receive the assistance after the disaster. See also, Ex post Risk Management.

It insures the revenue of the entire farm rather than an individual crop by guaranteeing a percentage of average gross farm revenue, including a small amount of livestock revenue. The plan uses information from a producer’s Schedule F tax forms and the current year’s expected farm revenue to calculate the policy revenue guarantee.

It is a risk that causes loss or decline of agricultural production or farmers’ revenues, such as adverse weather and commodity price shocks.

It is the process towards becoming better at dealing with risks. It requires anticipating potential risks and planning solutions in advance, so as to limit their negative consequences. Key elements of ARM can be summarized by the ARM cycle that includes the following steps: the identification of the risks, the assessment of the risks, the identification of risk management tools to put in place, the implementation of the tools, and monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the tools and strategy that are in place.

It is a contract providing insurance against specific perils or events (e.g., area-yield loss, drought, flood) defined and recorded in a certain region – for example, at a country or district level in the case of yields, or at a local weather station in the case of insured weather events. Indemnities are paid based on losses at a regional rather than farm level. Such insurance is less subject to adverse selection and moral hazard.

It describes how they respond to risks using ARM tools. An effective strategy may include one tool or a combination of tools to improve the response to the negative consequences of risks.

(also known as fix price later, unpriced or basis fix contract) It is a type of deferred pricing contract used in agricultural trade. There are two elements to this contract: futures value of the commodity and a pre-determined basis. The price of this contract is determined by applying a specified fixed basis to a particular futures price, usually when desired by the farmer. For example, a contract may state on 1 July that a farmer sells a specified quantity for November delivery at US$0.20. (The 1 November cash price minus a set basis of 20 cents, or the 1 November futures price plus a set basis of 20 cents.) Thus, the farmer has eliminated the basis part of price risk, but has retained the risk of futures prices. Sellers generally use the basis contract when the basis level is attractive but overall prices are unattractive due to low futures prices. Since the basis tends to be most narrow when futures levels are low, most sellers use the basis contract when they are confident that the futures price will go up.

It occurs in index insurance schemes when index measurements do not match individual losses. It is also when households experiencing losses are not be covered by insurance while others that experience no loss may receive indemnity payments. Basis risks increase along with the geographical area covered by index schemes. Basis itself is the difference between spot and futures prices.

It is a state-run reserve of goods or crops stored or farmed to safeguard the public against the risk that a considerable portion of a certain crop is damaged or destroyed because of adverse weather events. Associated with price, a buffer stock may also be used to stabilize commodity prices. This reserve stock allows the government to sell the commodity when the price is high and buy it when the price is low with the aim to reduce commodity price fluctuations.

These contracts give the buyer (long call) the right to purchase an underlying commodity at a specific price (exercise price). The seller of the call (short call) has an obligation to deliver the commodity on the exercise of the option.

(also known as "catastrophe bond") It provides the insurance industry with protections against devastating natural events.

It refers to possible changes in overall weather patterns, often implying how they affect socioeconomic contexts.

Constraints are known and certain conditions or impediments that lead to suboptimal performance, in this case of agricultural sector.

It is a risk or a combination or risks affecting many individuals or households in the same area and at the same time. Examples of these risks include droughts threatening crops and commodity price drops.

It is a risk or a combination of risks that affects a large number of insured items/people at the same time, for example an earthquake or a major flood.

It provides financial compensation for production or revenue losses resulting from specified or multiple perils (e.g. hail, windstorm, fire, and flood). While most crop insurance schemes pay for the loss of physical production or yield, coverage is often available for losses in productive assets such as tree crops.

It provides revenue protection based on price and yield expectations by paying for losses below the guarantee at the higher of an early-season price or the harvest price.

It is a financial instrument, traded on or off an exchange, the price of which is directly "derived" from the value of one or more underlying instruments, e.g., debt instruments, commodities, or any agreed upon pricing index. Derivatives do not directly transfer property, and the derivative itself is merely a contract between two or more parties with a value that is determined by fluctuations in the underlying asset. They can be used to hedge risk or to lock in a fixed rate or return. Derivatives are generally used to hedge risks, but can also be used for speculative purposes.

It is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope with it solely through its own resources. A disaster results from the combination of hazards, conditions of vulnerability, and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce the potential negative consequences of risks.

It is a warming of sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean associated with dramatic changes in the weather patterns of that region and worldwide.

It is the process of managing the financial consequences of a risk prior to the occurrence of the risk event through tools such as insurance contracts, CAT Bonds, Reinsurance, or options contracts.

It refers to coping actions taken in response to an event, without prior planning. Disaster aid and other types of emergency funding are examples of ex post risk management. While ex post strategies are not in place, short-term coping strategies will be utilized that have no significant long run benefit.

It is the risk that income will not reach expected levels or the invested value in a crop will be lost due to adverse changes in weather and price. Many agricultural production cycles stretch over long periods of time, and farmers must anticipate expenses that can only be recouped once the product is marketed.

It is an agreement between the seller and buyer to deliver a specified quantity of a commodity to the buyer at some time in the future for a specified price or in accordance with a specified pricing formula. Since no cash is given when contract is signed, the seller is obligated to deliver the commodity at maturity; the only guarantee that a forward contract will be honoured is the reputation of both parties.

It refers to how many times a risk occurs within a particular time period, based on past observations. This number (or percentage) conveys an idea as to future occurrence, but does not provide any certainty as to when the event or hazard may occur (again).

It is a legal agreement to buy or sell goods at a pre-stipulated price and time in the future. Futures, unlike forwards, are standardized and traded on exchanges. Cash and futures prices generally move in the same direction by taking an opposite position in the futures market (i.e. a farmer hoping to sell three months later, sells futures today and buys back the futures three months later); therefore, the profits (losses) of one market can offset the losses (gains) of the other market.

Gender refers to culturally based expectations of the roles and behaviours of women and men. The term distinguishes the social construct from the biologically determined aspects of being female and male. Gender roles, behaviours and the relations between women and men are dynamic and can change over time.” Source: Mainstreaming Gender-transformative Approaches at IFAD – Action Plan 2019-2025.

A perspective that pays particular attention to how gender differences and relations are relevant for investments and projects. Gender analysis explores social relationships and gender gaps in several domains, including: gendered division of labor, access to and control over resources, and decision-making power, as well as the opportunities for advancing gender equality. This approach to analyzing a situation can establish a more complete and less biased standpoint from which to understand the context of an investment or project. A gender analysis is the first step to designing gender intentional investments/projects/programmes, and leads to the identification of who may be included and who may be excluded from an investment or project on the basis of their sex or gender identity. Source: Gates Gender Equality Toolbox - Lexicon.

Constraints that women or men face that are a result of their gender. An example of constraints women farmers face might be not having title to their land, male dominated cooperative membership, being more tied to their homes preventing access to extension services. Constraints that are not based on gender are referred to as general constraints. Source: Glossary of Terms and Concepts. UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia 2017.

Achieved when women and men have equal rights, freedoms, conditions and opportunities to access and control socially valued goods and resources, and enjoy the same status within a society. It does not suggest that women and men are the same, but rather that they have equal value. This not only applies to equality of opportunity, but also to equality of access to the impact and benefits arising from economic, social, cultural and political development. Source: Mainstreaming Gender-transformative Approaches at IFAD – Action Plan 2019-2025.

Fair treatment for women and men according to their respective needs. A gender-equity goal often requires measures to rectify the imbalances between women and men, particularly to compensate for women’s historical and social disadvantages. Equity can be understood as the means while equality is the end. Equity leads to equality. Source: Mainstreaming Gender-transformative Approaches at IFAD – Action Plan 2019-2025.

A disparity between women and men’s and boys and girls’ condition or position in society based on gendered norms and expectations. Gender gaps reflect the unequal distribution of opportunities, resources or outcomes, and are usually revealed through the analysis of gender data that illustrate the extent of inequalities. Source: Gates Gender Equality Toolbox - Lexicon.

A perspective that pays particular attention to how gender differences and relations are relevant for investments and projects. Applying a gender lens to investments is one application of gender analysis. Using a gender lens to analyze power structures and roles within a specific context can provide important insights into whether an investment supports or exacerbates imbalances in gender-related power. Understanding a context through a gender lens can lead to better development interventions by revealing opportunities and helping to mitigate risks. Source: Gates Gender Equality Toolbox - Lexicon.

The process by which reducing the gaps in development opportunities between women and men, and working towards equality between them become an integral part of an organization’s strategy, policies and operations. Source: Mainstreaming Gender-transformative Approaches at IFAD – Action Plan 2019-2025.

Anything – a concept, an entity, a style of language – that is unassociated with either the male or female gender. The nature of systemic and embedded or internalized bias is such that, unfortunately often, what is perceived to be gender neutral is in fact gender blind. Source: Glossary of Terms and Concepts. UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia 2017.

It is the total value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year used as a measure of aggregate economic output and economic performance.

It executes indemnity payments only when the average county revenue for the insured crop falls below the revenue chosen by the farmer, i.e., the insured farmer is paid in the event that the county average per-acre revenue falls below the insured’s county trigger revenue. The trigger revenue is calculated by multiplying the GRIP price by the expected county yield and then multiplying this by 90, 85, 80, 75, or 70 percent (based on the chosen protection). The GRIP price is the average CBOT futures price for the five business days prior to March 1.

It is a potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.

It is the use of investments to manage commercial risk, or to minimize a potential loss to an existing position or known commitment. By using two counterbalancing investment strategies, any losses caused by price fluctuations are minimized. For example, a trader in commodities buys an amount of one particular item. At the same time he also makes a contract to sell an amount of a similar item at a later date.

A holistic approach to agricultural risks means that no risk is considered in isolation. All risk elements and interactions, including strategy and policy, have to be considered.

It protects producers against reductions in gross income when a crop’s price or yield declines from early-season expectations.

It refers to the amount payable by the insurer to the insured, either in the form of cash, repair, replacement, or reinstatement in the event of an insured loss, and measured by the extent of the insured's loss. It is set at a figure equal to, but not more than, the actual value of the subject matter insured just before the loss, subject to the adequacy of the sum insured. This means for many crops that an escalating indemnity level is established, as the growing season progresses.

It makes indemnity payments based not on an assessment of policyholders’ individual losses, but rather on measures of an index that is correlated with losses and serves as a proxy for actual losses. There are two types of agricultural index insurance products: one based on area yields (where the area is some unit of geographical aggregation larger than the farm) and the other based on measurable weather events.

Timely and accurate information are key components for successful farming activity and risk management. They can be generated from farming activity, or it can be obtained from off-farm sources.

A perspective that acknowledges the concrete experiences of inequality that result from the interaction of gender with other social markers of difference. These markers include but are not limited to age, race, class, caste, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics. When these markers interact with gender, compounded forms of discrimination emerge that amplify people’s individual constraints and opportunities. Rather than defining men and women as homogenous groups, an intersectional approach acknowledges and works to understand the differences within and among groups of men and women and gender non-conforming individuals, and how these differences create unequal opportunities and access to resources. Source: Source: Gates Gender Equality Toolbox - Lexicon.

They are physical damages, economic losses, livestock losses and human deaths are all potential effects (or losses) of the risk.

It refers to events that occur infrequently yet cause substantial damage. Decision makers, including agricultural producers, tend to underestimate their exposure to low-probability, high-consequence losses because people forget the severity of the loss experienced during infrequent extreme weather events. Thus, an insurance product that protects against these losses is frequently discounted or ignored all together by producers trying to determine the value of an insurance contract.

It is a forward contract that guarantees a minimum price with an opportunity to participate in future price gains. From a farmer’s perspective, this type of contract eliminates an important risk factor, and the incentive to default on the contract is less than that with fixed-price contracts. On the other hand, the buyer can also hedge the assumed risks by taking opposite positions. The farmer can be required to pay a certain price to take advantage of this benefit. In practice, the vast majority of farmers in developing countries have no access to forward contracts that contain this kind of price risk management component.

It is a model measuring a plant's ability to absorb sunlight from remote sensing or satellite data.

These are financial contracts that provide the seller of a commodity with the assurance of receiving a minimum selling price whereas the buyer is ensured a maximum purchase price to pay – therefore acting like insurance. Buying an option contract gives the holder or buyer of the option the right (not obligation) to buy or sell a specified quantity of a commodity (also called the underlying) for a specified price on or before a specified date in the future. It is common practice in grain trade calls and puts to refer to options on futures (i.e. the futures contracts are the underlying). There are two basic types of options: call options and put options.

It refers to when commodities or other instruments are traded directly between two parties and without a central exchange or broker.

PTBF, also known as executable order (in sugar trade) or on-call contract (in cotton trade), is the most common form of export contract for commodities from Latin America. It is also common in Africa and especially in Asia. Unlike other forward contracts where the used reference prices are commonly futures market prices, in this case the seller (or the buyer, in case of processors, importers or end-users) has the active ability to fix the prices at the moment deemed most opportune.

These contracts give the buyer (long put) the right to sell the underlying commodity at a specified price (exercise price). The seller of the put (short put) has an obligation to buy the commodity on the exercise of the option.

It is an additional insurance to an original insurance. It is used when the total exposure of a risk or group of risks presents the potential for losses beyond the limit of prudence for an insurance company to carry.

It is a company that sells reinsurance. Commercial reinsurers often operate on a global scale where they are able to pool a diverse portfolio of large risks to reduce their overall risk exposure.

It is the capacity of a system, community or society potentially exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure. This is determined by the degree to which the social system is capable of organizing itself to increase its capacity for learning from past disasters for better future protection and to improve risk reduction measures.

It provides dollar-denominated coverage by the producer selecting a dollar amount of target revenue from a range defined by 65-75 percent of expected revenue.

It is designed to provide comprehensive protection to farmers’ revenues – not just yield or price protection. It covers sharp drops in expected revenue, possibly resulting either from a decline in yields or prices, or a combination of the two. Farmers are compensated when any combination of harvested yield times the harvest price results in insurance revenue that is less than the revenue guaranteed. The following revenue insurance plans provided by the Risk Management Agency of the USDA are illustrative of the potential ways in which revenue insurance can be provided.

It is an uncertain event resulting from natural hazards or man-made activities that leads to physical damages or to monetary losses. It is characterized by a frequency and a severity.

It is the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of risk. It is a process that consists of describing potential adverse effects, evaluating the magnitude of each risk, estimating potential exposure to the risk, estimating the range of likely effects given the likely exposures and attempting to describe the probabilities associated with various events.

It is the process of managing the financial consequences of risk through instruments such as insurance contracts, CAT bonds, reinsurance, or options contracts.

It is a systematic decision-making process for the identification and evaluation of potential hazards and exposures to loss faced by an organization or individual (for example, making a risk assessment). The process also involves the selection and implementation of the most appropriate techniques for treating such hazards and exposures.

It involves the minimization of the negative impacts of risks taking precautionary or preventive actions to reduce exposure to, severity of, or probability of loss.

It means aggregating independent risks to make the aggregate more certain. It is about handling an uncertain risk posed to or by a single person or investment by combining it with the same risk affecting a large group, which can be calculated.

It is the process that sets the priority risks to handle helps to better manage risks and protect farming activities from major damage, as often financial resources or efforts are unable to address all of the risks at the same time.

It helps keeping track (in written form) of all the activities related to risk identification, tool implementation and monitoring.

It involves the transfer of the uncertainty of risk impacts to other actors (than farmers) who can be better at managing risks.

It refers to a permanent situation of shortage with reference to the water demands in a water supply system or in a large region, characterized by an arid climate and/or a fast growth of water consumptive demands.

It involves quantification of the negative consequences in terms of losses (monetary or physical) following the occurrence of a risk, calculated as an average and/or worst-case scenario.

Sex is the biological categorization of a person as male, female, or intersex. Sex is assigned at birth based on biological indicators, including hormones, sex chromosomes, internal reproductive organs, and external genitalia. Sex and gender are commonly conflated, which contributes to widespread erroneous beliefs that cultural practices, roles, and norms around gender are biologically determined and therefore cannot be changed. Source: Gates Gender Equality Toolbox - Lexicon.

It is an unexpected traumatic event such as death in the family or loss of land and livestock which can be caused by a catastrophic weather event or other unexpected phenomenon. Price shocks occur when the price of commodity changes dramatically due to changes in local or global supply and demand, affecting the livelihood of households dependent on this commodity either for income or caloric intake. Economic shocks can occur at the micro, meso, and macro levels and can have long-term consequences for the economic well-being of actors at each level.

It refers to a plan to use ARM tools effectively in managing risks.

It is developed in the over-the-counter (OTC) market as long-term price risk management instruments. A commodity swap contract (or simply swap) obligates two parties to exchange a floating price for a fixed price (or vice versa) for a given amount of a commodity at specified time intervals. In other words, a swap is an agreement between two parties – the hedger and the hedge provider – in which the hedger (a commodity user or producer) agrees to pay a fixed price and receive a floating price for a specified volume of a commodity over a specified period. In a swap with two parties, there is typically a consumer and a producer of the commodity, and a bank or any other financial institution that acts as an intermediary. Since a swap is a one-time negotiation, no major periodic decisions have to be made and they do not require constant monitoring. Swaps do not involve hassles of exchange-traded brokerage and margin calls; this makes them more convenient tools of price risk management. These are some key factors that make swaps easier tools of risk management for developing countries.

It entails the choice of the best ARM tools for the situation and includes comparing each tool considering different criteria such as: availability, affordability, cost-benefit analysis (CBA), feasibility, coherence, sustainability, reliability, attitude to risk of the farmer.

Monitoring involves the routine surveillance of how tool(s) or an overall strategy is performing. Evaluation is instead the process that assesses the success of the ARM strategy in meeting its goals.

It has historically underwritten a particular crop on a particular plot of land. This insurance is priced by using historical farm yield data. In the event of a loss from an insured event, a trained claims agent will visit the plot of land and assess the amount of damage accrued. One of the most common forms of traditional agricultural insurance is multiple peril crop insurance.

It is another way to refer to risk, but we can assign frequency and severity to risks while it is not possible to a “fully” uncertain event.

It is the process of selecting and rating risks for insurance purposes.

It is the level of susceptibility (of a household, community or region) to the impact of hazards. The conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes.

It refers to the relative shortage of water in a water supply system that may lead to restrictions on consumption. At the national level water shortage is expressed as m3 per capita per year. The greater the figure the greater is the shortage.

It refers to contingent claims contracts for which payouts are determined by an objective weather parameter that is highly correlated with farm-level yields or revenue outcomes, such as rainfall levels, temperature, or soil moisture.

It is the risk of physical damage and/or financial loss from adverse weather events such as hurricanes, flooding, or drought. When weather risks are correlated, the losses are greater due to their wider geographical impact.

It is a risk unique to agricultural producers; unlike most other entrepreneurs, agricultural producers cannot predict the amount of output that the production process will yield due to external factors such as weather, pests and diseases.