Search results

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of agricultural insurance adoption by farmers of the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Primary data from the 2015/2016 crop season was collected from a sample of 175 farmers. Logit econometric models were applied to identify the variables that affect the probability of agricultural insurance adoption.

The empirical results show that the education level, access to technical assistance, use of management tools and farm size positively affect the probability of adopting agricultural insurance. In addition, farmers who produce soybean and/or corn are more likely to use insurance. On the other hand, the higher the farmers’ propensity to take risk the lower the likelihood of using insurance.

The empirical analysis is based on cross-sectional data of a sample of 175 farmers of the state of São Paulo. The use of panel data with a larger sample of farmers, considering a period of years, could provide additional information.

To the best of the knowledge, this is the first empirical analysis about determinants of agricultural insurance adoption by Brazilian farmers, considering behavioral factors. The findings provide useful insights for policymakers in formulating risk management programs in the Brazilian agricultural markets. A better understanding about the determinants of insurance adoption is also relevant for private companies that sell insurance to farmers. Therefore, the paper may contribute with the diffusion of rural insurance as risk management tool in Brazilian agriculture.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of a Brazilian rural credit program, The National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (PRONAF), on small family farming production.

The method is based on a quasi-experimental approach (propensity score matching) applied to 4.1m family farmers in Brazil.

Results show that farmers accessing PRONAF tended to be positively selected in terms of several observable characteristics, such as land size and agricultural practices. Moreover, PRONAF had positive and differentiated impacts on agricultural production. The impact was larger in the poorest region when compared to the regions characterized by intensive and commercial farming.

The rural credit information was restricted to one crop year, making impossible to analyze the mid- and long-term impacts of the credit program on agricultural production.

The study provides some practical implications for policies of rural development. First, rural credit does matter for agricultural production of small family farmers. Nonetheless, since credit programs are large subsidized by the rest of the population, further studies are still needed the aggregate costs and benefits of these schemes. Results also revealed that PRONAF may have contributed to reduce regional inequalities, since the impact was larger in the poorest NE region.

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of how rural credit has impacted small-farm agricultural production, using large and representative data – the whole population of Brazilian family farmers.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors, including behavior, that impact the knowledge and use of futures contracts among Brazilian coffee producers. The results are based on primary data obtained from a sample of 244 farmers.

A multinomial logistic regression model is adjusted to analyze the determinants of the producers’ choices.

The results show that behavioral variables play an important role in the decision to use futures contracts: risk propensity, self‐confidence in management, and the level of market monitoring. Variables such as education and crop size also factor into this decision.

A limitation of this study is that the analysis of farmers’ decisions and behavior was limited to one year. Future research which examines a more comprehensive group of producers over a longer period can reveal in more detail the determining factors for the use of futures contracts as a price risk management tool in the coffee market.

The paper is the first to interview Brazilian coffee producers about their hedging decisions on a large scale. The main contributions this paper makes to the literature are the inclusion of behavioral variables in its analysis that will prove valuable in both future research and in the investment industry.

Este trabalho avalia os principais fatores, incluindo aspectos relativos ao comportamento, que interferem no conhecimento e respectivo uso de contratos futuros entre produtores de café no Brasil. Os resultados baseiam‐se em dados primários obtidos de uma amostra de 244 agricultores das principais regiões produtores de café no Brasil. Um modelo de regressão logística multinomial é ajustado para analisar os determinantes das múltiplas escolhas dos produtores. Entre os principais resultados do trabalho, destaca‐se o fato de as variáveis comportamentais cumprirem um importante papel na determinação da decisão do uso de contratos futuros, em especial a propensão ao risco, o grau de confiança na gestão e grau de acompanhamento do mercado. Além disso, variáveis como escolaridade do produtor e tamanho da produção se mostraram significativas.