Perception of risk sources by chilean blueberry producers

Abstract

The biological and environmental nature of the agricultural production implies that growers operate in an environment of greater risk as compared to other economic activities. This has implications on the manner in which the growers can manage the risks inherent to their activity, which depends on how they perceive the risks and on the degree of aversion to risk. The main objective of this study was to learn about the perception of the main sources of risk that blueberry growers face in the Maule Region, Chile. This Region has about 25% of the planted area of this species in Chile. We used information from questionnaires implemented in 124 fields which considered two independent groups of growers: 48 owners and 76 managers. A scale of Importance of the Sources of Risk (ISR) was used. It included 13 items that the interviewed had to rank according to their importance through a Likert-type scale of four levels. The exploratory analysis allowed to infer that the ISR scale had adequate levels of internal consistency (Cronbach´s alpha = 0.83). The results showed that the climatic events are perceived by the growers as the main source of risk for blueberry production in Chile. The analysis also showed that the price of the product and the currency exchange rate are the next risks in importance for the field owners. On the other hand, the risks for the managers were, in decreasing order of importance: yield, product price, variability in sales, and volumes for sale. The knowledge of the perception of risk by the growers is a fundamental input for designing instruments of agricultural policies, risk management and support programs for the growers.

Determinants of the risk perception of farmer–herder conflicts: evidence from rural Nigeria

“…The authors also found that educational attainment, age, gender, farm size, farming experience, income and location also influenced how farmers perceive the sources of agricultural risks (Duong et al, 2019). Similarly, Lobos et al (2018) found climate events to be the main source of perceived risk for blueberry producers in Chile. Aditto (2011) also found age, gender, education, off-farm work, farm size and location to significantly influence farmers' perceived risk from different sources of risk in Central and Northeast Thailand.…”

“…, 2019). Similarly, Lobos et al. (2018) found climate events to be the main source of perceived risk for blueberry producers in Chile.…”

Perceptions of the attributes of fish farming in floating cages on Lake Toho in southern Benin: the case of fishermen

“…The SPSS version 20.0 software was used to calculate the correlation coefficients and the various associated probabilities while the Minitab 16 was used to perform the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). This method was used in the empirical studies of Assogbadjo et al (2008), Gnanglè et al (2009), Teka andVogt (2010), andLobos et al (2018).…”

Assessing the Financial Risks in Guava Cultivation in the Pabna District of Bangladesh

“…Contrarily, Miller, et al [16] argued that a variety of terminologies are used in different research for introducing various types of risks in agriculture, but production, financial, marketing, legal and human risks are considered as the most important ones. By studying the recognition of risk sources by the blueberry growers in Chile, Labos, et al [17] ranked the sources of risks as per their importance. In that ranking climatic events were identified as the most significant source of risks in blueberry cultivation perceived by the growers in Chile.…”