Agriculture is the most risky sector of agriculture, is exposed to both internal and external risk factors [3]. This is due to the fact that the results of activities of agricultural producers are determined not only by the quantity and quality of labor invested, the level of use of technics and technologies, but also the objective conditions of agricultural production associated with a high degree of risk.
In most literary sources, the risk is characterized by the ambiguity in the interpretation of features; properties and elements; in understanding its contents; correlation of objective and subjective sides. The diversity of opinions about the nature of risk is due, in particular, the multidimensional nature of this phenomenon, the almost complete neglect of this concept in the existing economic legislation, the underestimation of the real economic practice and management. As the analysis shows, in the literature there is a widespread judgment about how the risk of the possibility of economic loss, the cause of which is the coincidence of events.
Agricultural producers face many risks: price fluctuations, yield, partial or total loss of resources and changes in public policy. In addition, agricultural production is exposed to the risk of natural disasters and emergencies. Natural hazards such as drought, hail, storm, flood, can lead to serious production losses [1]
In agriculture quite a lot of specific external risk factors that must be considered when managing risk, such as the location of many agricultural enterprises, their localization within one or two rural settlements limit the ability to attract the workforce, which imposes on the expansion of production and the development of certain industries. For the same reason, low competition in the labour market in rural areas negatively affects the quality of the workforce.
The seasonality of agricultural work leads to the emergence of risk of loss of working time, especially in crop production, when the irrational organization of labor utilization leads to uneven use of the labour force during the year and determines the feature of risk management.
A high degree of risk in agricultural production is one of the reasons that this industry is less attractive to investors than other sectors of the economy. All this leads to the development of methods and tools of risk management [2].
One of the ways of managing risks in the agricultural sector is the agricultural insurance. The liability of the insurance company risk insurance involves indemnity to the insured losses arising from unfavorable and unpredictable changes of the market environment and other conditions for the implementation of the activities.
Agricultural insurance performs several important functions, which constitute its categorical nature. First, it acts as the process of the initial placement of risk (risk function). In the framework of the risk function is a redistribution of the money form of value among the participants of insurance in the aftermath of the accidental loss events. Helpful feature aims at financing a part of funds Stra - hovago Fund measures to reduce insurance risk. In agriculture crop insurance of agricultural crops, occupies a leading place in the system of property insurance, its share exceeds 90% of the total risk.
One of the risks in agricultural production are the various types of losses. During the development of directions of development of agricultural production mobilization activities for the reduction of product losses should be carried out separately for reasons of losses[3].
Causes product loss, require financial investments to eliminate them, are largely technological in nature. These include not - a sufficient level of use of scientific and technical progress in agricultural production and the presence of bottlenecks in the technological chain "production – transportation – part – time- storage – processing – marketing" due to the adoption to the implementation of suboptimal economic decisions for the development of agriculture.
Risk management involves the choice of one mode of action among many choices that have uncertain consequences and different levels of expected profits. There are different strategies and tools that help manufacturers to manage market risk.
Can be divided into 2 main groups: strategies for reducing risk in the enterprise and strategies for transfer and risk sharing with other entities of the economy.
The first group includes such risk management instruments such as: diversification of production sectors and production methods (this includes the use of mixed farming to reduce risks associated with single species production of commercial products.); to maintain sufficient liquidity; provisions; choice of products and production methods with the least risk exposure and shortened production cycles; phased investment; finding additional sources of revenue; reducing costs.
Strategies for transfer and risk sharing are: the manufacturing on a contract basis; vertical integration; hedging in the markets of futures and options; insurance.
It should be noted that the instruments of regulation of risk in the enterprise can be used by producers of agricultural products alone, while tools for transfer and sharing of risks suggest the presence of an appropriate institutional environment and market infrastructure.