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Abstract
Agricultural insurance is considered to be an effective to manage rural
risks. Surprisingly, its adoption by farmers is very limited all over the world. An
outstanding exception is the United States of America, country in which this instrument has achieved remarkable success. Nevertheless, the process of diffusion
of agricultural insurance in the USA was slow and expensive. It has also required
significant government intervention through a variety of complementary actions.
In this context, countries willing to introduce this instrument among other
agricultural policy tools, as it seems the case of Brazil, should proceed with
caution. Agricultural insurance success has important pre-requisites and its
general diffusion may amplify its problems. The analysis of the North American
experience provides worthwhile lessons.