The readiness of farmers to create mutual funds for agricultural risk management in Lithuania

The agriculture could be characterized as the economic activity which production and economic results are unpredictable and unstable because of climate change, market volatility. Vast and growing risk of farming induces to look after the ways to manage it. European Union, aiming to reduce risks in agricultural activities, proposes to create mutual funds as new measures for farmers not only to protect the production, but the income losses too. Lithuania intends to implement these measures, therefore it is very important not only to analyse the experience of other countries but also to know the opinion of Lithuanian farmers' community. The aim of the research is to examine the attitudes of Lithuanian farmers due to participation in creation of mutual funds. Using the method of force field the semi structured questionnaire was developed, it was sent to 46 leaders of farmer’s organizations affiliated to The Chamber of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania, 22 replies were received. The research results confirmed farmers’ attitudes, that the risk management tools, associated with creation of mutual funds are necessary and relevant in Lithuanian case, but their current level of awareness impels uncertainty and unpreparedness.

Keyword(s): cooperation, farmers attitudes, income stabilization measure, mutual funds, risk

Kuliešis G.;Pareigienė L.;Ribašauskienė E.;Sablou C. 2017.The readiness of farmers to create mutual funds for agricultural risk management in Lithuania. Management Theory and Studies for Rural Business and Infrastructure Development = Vadybos mokslas ir studijos - kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtrai 39(4):442-452.https://doi.org/10.15544/mts.2017.31 (eISSN 2345-0355). [Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Collection Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI); EBSCO; Business Source Complete; CAB Abstracts; Ulrich’s; DOAJ; OAJI; IndexCopernicus; ERIH PLUS; AcademicKeys.com; Google Scholar].