Abstract:
Almost all business enterprises are susceptible to risks of different forms. Hence, to a great extent,
the success of running the day-to-day business operations and realizing their strategic goals depend
on the effectiveness of managing risks they encounter. This paper presents a case study that
examines the supply chain risk management of a leading plant nursery agribusiness in Sri Lanka.
Although the supply chain risk management has been of interest to researchers and practiced by
business managers as early as 1990s, its application of agriculture and agribusinesses commenced
only recently. Furthermore, studies on supply chain risk management in plant nursery agribusiness
enterprises are very remote. Taking ISO 31000 risk management framework as the conceptual basis,
this research investigated the elements of risks encountered and how they were mitigated, in one of
the largest and a very sophisticated plant nurseries in Sri Lanka as a case study investigation. This is
a 40-acre nursery complex, namely Sevana Plant Nursery, which is based in Ampara District, Sri
Lanka. The data collection was mainly through in-depth interviews, document review and
participant observation. The research team visited and spent time with them in two occasions. The
findings verified that this nursery has faced numerous risks over the past 29 years due to various
factors, such as Tsunami, the Covid-19 pandemic, cyclones, Easter bombings, social unrest, and
economic decline. The business primarily employed avoidance and reduction as their risk mitigation
strategies. The management, with their extensive experience in plant nursery operations, not only
demonstrated their effective risk management capabilities but also exhibited resilience in the face of
supply chain risks on numerous occasions. The plant nurseries and agribusinesses, both large and
small, can learn several important lessons in supply chain risk management through this research.
Future research could be directed towards detailed studies on specific sub-processes supply chain
risk management process of plant nursery agribusiness such as risk analysis and mitigation.
