Young man processes wet cocoa beans in a factory in Indonesia

Platform for Agricultural Risk Management

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Building resilience and unlocking opportunities

Risk and uncertainty are inherent to agriculture. Common risks include climate change, disease and shocks – from financial crashes to natural disasters. Other risks relate to logistics, infrastructure, public policy and the political situation. The climate crisis and volatile markets have made some risks more severe in recent years.

Small-scale farmers are especially vulnerable to risk. They may have difficulty assessing and managing risk. Often, they cannot benefit from opportunities to improve their businesses and strengthen their resilience and livelihoods.

Holistic Agricultural Risk Management (ARM) is an innovative approach for improving rural resilience, as well as for leveraging finance and investment in agriculture. ARM increases small-scale farmers’ capacity to assess, prepare for, manage and adapt to risks.

The Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) makes risk management an integral part of agricultural policy and investment planning.

PARM combines quantitative and qualitative data to analyze agricultural risks. It generates evidence on key risks that significantly impact the entire economy or specific value chains. PARM quantifies and prioritizes these risks, and recommends appropriate tools to manage them.

When requested, PARM provides technical assistance to translate the proposed ARM tools into actionable investments in projects or programmes.

PARM facilitates dialogue between governments and stakeholders to:

integrate ARM into policies and farming practices through capacity-building and technical assistance;
de-risk and boost investments in agriculture by providing risk assessments, promoting the use of financial instruments – like insurance – and identifying opportunities for public-private partnerships;
improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers through tailored support, tools and strategies that enhance their ability to manage risks, access investment and build resilience.

Launched in 2013, PARM is a G20 initiative which is hosted and managed by IFAD. It is co-financed by the European Commission, the French Development Agency, the Italian Government and IFAD. PARM partners with the African Union Development Agency New Partnership for Africa's Development, as well as multiple international and regional partners.

Visit the PARM website