History, Support, and Organization

History

Early initiatives to promote dialogue in the agricultural risk management community experienced relatively little success. They lacked the means for systematically, continuously sharing knowledge, experience, and perspectives, and they did not engage the entire array of active players.

In recent years, as the risks faced by the agricultural sector have grown, interest in effective risk management approaches has risen. As more holistic approaches to managing risks in agriculture have emerged, they have opened opportunities to engage new actors and disciplines.

In this context, the Forum for Agricultural Risk Management in Development (FARMD) has emerged to catalyze opportunities for systematic and on-going sharing of knowledge, experience, and perspectives among the growing number of organizations in this field.

Support

The Swiss Government, through its State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs are the main partners of FARMD. The World Bank’s Agricultural Risk Management Team plays a critical role in coordinating initial members’ interactions and the activities leading to the consolidation of the forum.

Organization

An inaugural workshop for FARMD was held in October 2009 in Lucerne, Switzerland.  The workshop was a first step towards filling the knowledge exchange and interaction gaps among the many organizations involved in agricultural risk management. It brought together diverse stakeholders from development agencies, commercial organizations, and regional organizations interested in agricultural risk management, and it provided different perspectives on agricultural risks. The two-day interaction among participants also provided the building blocks for the agricultural risk management practitioners’ forum, its framework, and the set of activities to be pursued.

For greater detail on the FARMD workshop, including presentations, proceedings and participant list, please visit the links below.

FARMD Donors