Occupational health and safety in agriculture
Ankara, 20-21 May 2013
Boglárka Bóla
Prevention and Research Unit
Safety and health at work is everyone’s concern. It’s good for you. It’s good for business.
Sector characteristics
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5% of EU27 workforce employed in agriculture, decreasing
Male dominated – 65%
Ageing – 25,2% of workers aged 55 years or older
Relatively low educational levels
Relatively high levels of unskilled work
Low income
Most are self-employed – over 59%
78% worked alone with help of family members and seasonal
workers (occasionally)
 Temporary contracts – 43,9%
 No contracts – 24%
 Migrant workers
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Working conditions and outcomes (1)
Many different activities in different sites,
for example:
 Cattle-breeding
 Milking
 Cultivation of crops
 Harvesting
 Pruning etc.
THEREFORE, also many different risks
and health problems
Some examples in the next slides
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Working conditions and outcomes (2)
Accidents
 Non-fatal occupational accidents rates 1,7
times higher than the average
 Number of fatal accidents 3 times higher
 The highest incidence rate of fatal accidents
among young workers is in agriculture
 Main causes:
• Transport (being run over or vehicle
overturns)
• Falling from a height
• Struck by moving or falling objects (trees etc.)
• Livestock related accidents
• Contact with machinery
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Working conditions and outcomes (3)
Physical risks and related health problems
 Ergonomic risks – musculoskeletal disorders
 Chemicals: pesticides – cancers, neurological diseases,
reproductive effects, impaired fertility in males, depression
 Biological hazards: bacteria, yeasts, mites, viruses and organic
dust – infections, allergies, poisoning or toxic effects
 Noise – hearing loss
 Vibration – white finger, circulatory, muscular and back
disorders
 UV radiation – burns, skin cancer
 Heat or cold
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Working conditions and outcomes (4)
Psychosocial risks
 Long and non-standard working hours
 Poor work-life balance
 Work ‘on call’
 Poor social relationship
 Poor career prospects
and related health problems
 Stress
 Anxiety
 Sleeping problems
 Overall fatigue
 Poor mental health
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Challenges for OSH
 Specificity of the sector
 Not well informed about OSH risks
 Only 20% report on-the-job training
 Lowest level of employee
representation
 Behavioural / cultural factors
 Difficult to reach
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How to improve health and safety?
 Raise awareness, e.g. by demonstrating
examples from life (good and bad practice)
 Inform, share good practice, network
 Go were farmers are
 Work with bigger companies having small
farm sub-contractors
 Provide simple, easy-to-use, practical risk
assessment and management tools etc.
Change behaviour to establish
positive health and safety culture –
integral to good farm business
management
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EU-OSHA activities
Awareness raising, e.g. through campaigns:
 Working together for risk prevention 2013-14
 Collaboration with Social partners in agriculture
Good practice:
 Web resources
 Case studies
 Frequently asked questions
 Collection of risk assessment tools
 Maintenance in agriculture – OSH guide
Data collection:
 OSH in figures
 Expert forecasts on emerging risks
 2nd phase of Enterprise survey on new and emerging risks (ESENER)
– agriculture and establishments of 5 or more workers included
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Good practice example
 The ‘Farm Safety and Health Awareness Days’
(SHAD) in the UK, organised by HSE, are events
designed to inform and train agricultural workers
including practical demonstrations covering the
everyday hazards faced by farmers, farming families
and workers
 More than 43,000 people have attended over 140
SHAD events and research shows that a majority of
those who attend a SHAD make at least one
change to improve health and safety on their farm
as a result
 Almost all those who attend would recommend
them to another person
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Thank you for your attention!
More information:
 OSH in agriculture
https://osha.europa.eu/en/sector/agriculture
 EU-OSHA
https://osha.europa.eu/en
• Turkish Focal Point of EU-OSHA
Mr Kasim Özer: [email protected]
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