This report analyses the agricultural risk management system in Spain, applying a holistic approach that considers the interactions between all sources of risk, farmers. strategies and policies. The policy analysis is structured around three layers of risk that require a differentiated policy response: normal (frequent) risks that should be retained by the farmer, marketable intermediate risks that can be transferred through market tools, and catastrophic risk that requires government assistance. The Spanish risk management system is dominated by public insurance. Two main policy issues are discussed in this paper. First, the contribution of the insurance system to market efficiency; this comes from the information sharing arrangement in the public private partnership, rather than from the premium subsidies. Second, the insurance system as a device for catastrophic assistance.
