Risk Management Practices and Performance for Regenerative Agriculture

Abstract

Agricultural projects are vital to improving livelihoods, especially in developing countries like Rwanda. In the face of climate variability, pest outbreaks, and economic challenges, agricultural projects need comprehensive strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate risks. Despite the importance of risk management in agricultural projects, many initiatives in Rwanda struggle to sustain positive outcomes due to inadequate risk identification, planning, and response strategies, hindering agricultural productivity and economic growth. The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of risk management practices and performance of agricultural projects in Rwanda: a case of regenerative agriculture for livelihoods and markets project. The study used decision making theory and the theory of change. The target population was 432 REALMs project stakeholders from which a sample of 157 was taken to attend closed ended questionnaire and focus group discussion. The study used Stratified sampling, simple random sampling and Purposive sampling for selection of respondents. The researcher conducted a pilot study on 20 respondents which represent 12.7% of the sample size. Content Validity Index was 0.90 and the overall reliability coefficient was 0.85 for all items. Data analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics of correlation and regression analyzed by SPSS version 28. The findings for four hypotheses were tested at ?=.05 level of significance and the results were: risk identification (p=0.000<0.05); risk analysis (p=0.000<0.05); risk response (p=0.000<0.05) and; risk review and control (p=0.000<0.05) have no significant effect on performance of agricultural projects in Rwanda; were rejected, confirming that the risk management strategies have significant effect on performance of agricultural projects. The study revealed that there is significant effect of risk management practices performance of agricultural projects in Rwanda. It is recommended that beneficiaries of the REALMS project and similar initiatives remain actively engaged in risk management practices. Regular risk assessments, stakeholder collaboration, and adaptive risk responses are crucial for maintaining project success. Recommendations to future researchers focus on the fact that, future studies should explore the influence of socioeconomic factors, such as gender and education, on the effectiveness of risk management strategies. Understanding how these variables affect the adoption and implementation of risk practices will provide more tailored recommendations for improving agricultural outcomes and ensuring greater inclusivity in agricultural development projects.