CIHEAM Zaragoza, TEAGASC (Ireland’s Agriculture and Food Development Authority), and AEIDL (European Association for Innovation in Local Development), as members of the SafeHabitus project consortium, in collaboration with the European Committee of the Regions, have led a seminar on occupational safety and social sustainability in agriculture. The event, titled "The Role of Social Security in Supporting Farm Safety and Farmer Health" took place on 12 March in Brussels. It brought together policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders to address the challenges and opportunities of social security systems in improving occupational safety and health (OSH) and the quality of life for agricultural workers across the EU.
As the institution leading the policy and governance work within SafeHabitus, and a recognised authority in training, cooperation, and research in agri-food and rural development, CIHEAM Zaragoza placed particular emphasis on the need to strengthen social protection systems to ensure a fairer, safer, and more sustainable agricultural sector.
Challenges in social protection for farmers
According to Eurostat data, agricultural workers account for 4.2% of total employment in the EU, but this figure only includes the 8.7 million workers formally employed in the sector. When family members and part-time workers are included, the agricultural labour force in 2020 was estimated at 17 million people. Due to the precarious nature of agricultural work and its unique labour dynamics, many farm workers, particularly self-employed farmers and family labourers, have limited access to social security protections, such as healthcare and pensions.
A particular group of concern is self-employed farmers who make up the majority of farmers. Farmers and their families have often found it challenging to contribute to national social protection schemes due to limited or uncertain income or a tradition of self-reliance. This means that many do not have basic or adequate social protection coverage.
A Call to improve social security in agriculture
During the seminar, Alun Jones, Head of Projects at CIHEAM Zaragoza, stressed the importance of comprehensive social security coverage for all farmers: “We must ensure that all farmers, including the self-employed, are able to contribute to comprehensive (invalidity, health, paternity/maternity, pensions and unemployment) and effective (sufficient financial coverage) national social protection systems. One of the core branches of Social Security is compensation for occupational ill-health and injuries. An effective OSH prevention policy in agriculture can support farmers in leading a healthy, productive and long working life and reduce the financial impact on social protection systems, thus ensuring the social sustainability of EU agriculture.”
David Meredith (TEAGASC), SafeHabitus Project Coordinator, highlighted the uniquely challenging situation that farmers and farm workers face regarding social security: “Most of the people working on farms across the EU are self-employed or family workers. In many instances, this means that they have limited access to health and social care systems which employees working in other sectors can take for granted. Improving access to these services and supports, particularly pensions, will improve the attractiveness of farming, support generational renewal and help reduce the number of occupational fatalities amongst older farmers. Whilst farmers, farm families and workers’ pay the price for poor social security systems in many member states, there are good models for providing these important groups with access to health care, support child care and elder care, and provide pensions.”
Similarly, Karine Gloanec-Maurin, Committee of the Regions member and rapporteur of the CoR Opinion on fair working conditions in agriculture addressed the need for a harmonised approach across the EU Members states and regions: “It is necessary to improve working conditions in agriculture to attract sufficient labour and maintain production levels in the Regions. It is also necessary to ensure uniform implementation of the CAP social conditionality to avoid distortions of competition between Regions.”
CIHEAM Zaragoza’s commitment to social sustainability in agriculture
This seminar is part of a series of strategic meetings led by CIHEAM Zaragoza under the SafeHabitus project, aiming to foster collaboration between policymakers, researchers, and professionals in the agricultural sector. As a key institution in the Mediterranean, CIHEAM Zaragoza reaffirms its commitment to training, cooperation, and innovation to build a safer and more socially sustainable agricultural future.
About the SafeHabitus project
SafeHabitus is a four-year project coordinated by TEAGASC Ireland and funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme. This multi-actor initiative aims to strengthen Farm Health and Safety Knowledge Innovation Systems (FHS KIS) and support the EU’s transition towards greater social sustainability in agriculture.