Risk management and its role in enhancing perceived resilience capacities of farms and farming systems in Europe

Spiegel, Alisa, Soriano, Bárbara, de Mey, Yann, Slijper, Thomas, Urquhart, Julie ORCID: 0000-0001-5000-4630, Bardaji, Isabel, Vigani, Mauro ORCID: 0000-0003-2442-7976, Severini, Simone and Meuwissen, Miranda (2020) Risk management and its role in enhancing perceived resilience capacities of farms and farming systems in Europe. EuroChoices, 19 (2). pp. 45-53. doi:10.1111/1746-692X.12284

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Abstract

In facing future challenges, risk management (RM) is essential for European farming systems (FS). This article synthesises lessons learned on RM based on a farm survey, interviews with farmers, and focus groups involving a range of FS actors. In contrast to previous literature, we broaden the definition of RM to include strategies that target long-term structural challenges, as well as expanding the level of analysis from the farm to the FS level. The results were consistent across the different methods. We found that farmers mainly worry about economic challenges: in particular long-term pressures. We also found that European farmers have implemented diverse RM strategies in the past 5 years, and that no single strategy has been applied by the vast majority of farmers. In line with perceptions of future challenges, there is a demand for the reorientation of RM strategies towards long-term pressures, rather than short-term shocks. FS actors were found to perceive RM as enhancing resilience capacities, especially adaptability. The results of interviews distinguished between major learning strategies and the attributes of farmers for enhancing robustness, adaptive, or transformative capacities. Focus group discussions revealed that the future development of RM strategies requires contributions by all FS actors.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Sustainability; Challenges; Farm survey; Stakeholders; Learning
Subjects:	S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) > S604.5 Agricultural conservation
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > Countryside and Community Research Institute
Research Priority Areas:	Place, Environment and Community
Depositing User:	Rhiannon Goodland
Date Deposited:	18 Aug 2020 13:13
Last Modified:	10 Dec 2022 04:15
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/8641

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