RISK AND RISK MANAGEMENT IN PLANT PRODUCTION

Investigations were carried out to study how plant production enterprises operating in the West-Transdanubian region of Hungary relate to risk management; how they view, in terms of risk factors, the production, market, financial, technological, legal and human elements affecting production. Research also covered which risk management methods are applied by the plant producers to reduce the negative impact of uncertainty factors. On the basis of the summarised results, farmers indicated the following as significant sources of risk: the price fluctuation of main produce, the late payment of agricultural support, the uncertainty of agricultural policy, and changes in resource prices. The primary method of risk management is to spread the risk, “standing on several feet” (production of different crops, having other income sources besides plant production), but farmers also emphasised the importance of obtaining market information