Les risques de rendements en agriculture française: une analyse du lien entre fertilisation azotée et assurance récolte

The contribution of agriculture to global warming requires the implementation of tools aimed at mitigating its GHG emissions. The adoption of agro-ecological practices, i.e. practices that rely as much as possible on the functionalities offered by ecosystems while reducing pressures on the environment, appears to be an important element in this direction. However, the transition from intensive systems to more virtuous systems can present risks. Economic research considers agricultural insurance as a means of covering these risks. In the continuity of this work, this study focuses on the analysis of yield risks related to nitrogen fertilization. It uses yield and mineral nitrogen data from 3,296 plots growing common wheat, corn and sunflower over the period 2011-2013 in three French departments. The simulation of the operation of crop insurance shows that lowering the threshold for triggering MRC insurance to 20% of the loss rate multiplies by 2.5 the number of plots to be compensated. A comparison between the plots eligible for the 20% and 30% thresholds concludes with a significant difference in yield averages and a non-significant difference in fertilization averages. Finally, the logistic regression performed shows that increasing the amount of nitrogen applied reduces the probability of being eligible for insurance.