Jianchao Luo

Climate change and climate-related disasters have had a major impact on agriculture and agricultural livelihoods in Bangladesh, threatening the food security of the entire nation. Non-structural measures such as crop insurance have been recommended as risk management tools for farmers but have not been implemented because of a lack of supporting policies, expertise, and lack of information about farmers’ willingness to adopt such strategies. This study aims to fill that research gap by exploring the factors influencing agricultural producers to purchase crop insurance. Primary data were collected from three districts (Mymensingh, Barisal, and Comilla) that are prone to flooding. A multinomial logit model was adopted to investigate the relationships among dependent and explanatory variables. The results indicate that age, loan size, distance from the major river, farming experience, farming type, and risk attitude affect farmers’ willingness to pay for crop insurance. Government subsidies and increased awareness of the benefits of crop insurance could improve the outlook for the agricultural sector and help medium and subsistence farmers maintain their livelihoods. The results also provide valuable guidance for local, national, and international stakeholders.

Rice farmers in Bangladesh face various environmental, climatic and market price-related risks. Choices of various operational tactics used for farm management are mostly influenced by farmers’ risk perception and attitude. This study intends to discover the influencing factors of a farmer on the risk associated with environmental and climatic issues. This study quantifies the risk perceptions of rice farmers, their perceived behavior, and various associated underlying factors using a crosssectional dataset on 600 rice farmers from three major rice-growing districts in Bangladesh. Equally, Likely Certainty Equivalent approach has been used to rank the farmers’ perceptions of three major risk dimensions such as the risk of market price fluctuation, the risk from various natural hazards, and risk of pest and disease. Probit regression is also used to discern the underlying factors affecting risk attitudes and perceptions. The results show that farmers’ age, total family income, distance from the farm gate to the main market, savings, agricultural credit, off-farm income, access to information, and frequent contact with extension officers are significant determinants that affect farmers’ risk attitudes and perceptions. This study provides in-depth insights for farmers, extension service providers, and agricultural planners on the real situation of farmers in developing countries, particularly those where crop insurance is still uncommon.