Rapid agricultural supply chain risk assessment : a conceptual framework

This paper describes the methodology for a Rapid Agricultural Supply Chain Risk Assessment (RASCRA), developed by the Agricultural Risk Management Team (ARMT) of the World Bank. The primary objective of RASCRA is to help decision makers understand the risk exposure of agricultural supply chain participants and to improve risk management strategies for selected commodity systems. RASCRA provides a system-wide approach for identifying risks, risk exposure, the severity of potential loses, and options for risk management either by supply chain participants or by third parties. The aim of the assessment is to understand the wide range of bottlenecks and choke points that affect the participants and functions related to a given agricultural commodity system. The assessment encompasses direct supply chain participants, private and public sector support service providers, and the broader enabling environment the focus on risk assessment is motivated by the growing attention to agricultural risk from national governments, international agencies, financial institutions, producer organizations, consumer organizations, and other agents in the private sector. Also, recent food safety 'crises,' the outbreak and spread of avian influenza, major swings in food and other commodity prices, and growing concerns about climate change are among the many shocks and emerging trends that are raising the profile of agricultural risk and interest in more effective and sustainable risk management strategies and approaches.