- Alun Jones, Head of Projects at CIHEAM Zaragoza, addresses in this article the culture of occupational risk prevention in Mediterranean agriculture.
- The text is based on an original article written by Alun Jones and Isaac Abril from the INSST, Spain, and highlights the main hazards, statistics, and measures to improve the safety and health of agricultural workers.
1. Introduction
Mediterranean agriculture is one of the most hazardous sectors for workers. They are exposed to numerous risks inherent to the profession, including animal husbandry, hazardous agricultural and forestry machinery, working alone in remote rural areas, adverse weather conditions, seasonal employment, a wide range of tasks and other demographic factors such as an ageing workforce and low levels of formal education. There is also a historical weak culture of prevention and a lack of training in occupational safety and health (OSH). Unfortunately, few Mediterranean countries (with the exception of France, Portugal and Spain) have ratified the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention C184 of the ILO. The Convention offers governments, employers and trade unions the possibility to organise and manage health and safety in agriculture, thereby improving working conditions in the sector.
2. Occupational Health and Safety Statistics in the Agricultural Sector
The agricultural sector has one of the highest accident rates and in many countries, numbers of fatal accidents in the workplace are comparable to those of the construction industry. According to ILO estimates worldwide, at least 170,000 agricultural workers die in the workplace every year.
However, official accident statistics for the sector under-report this figure, as accidents very often involve self-employed farmers not included under the social security provisions, family members helping out on the farm, retired workers, informal migrant workers, and labourers whose main occupation is not agriculture.
Several studies indicate widespread under-reporting of farming accidents and injuries in many countries across the world (Merisalu et al., 2019 and SafeHabitus, 2024).
According to a report by IPC-IG/UNDP, FAO and ILO (2022) on the role of social insurance schemes in the Middle East and North Africa, OSH risks were the most frequently cited cause for concern in the interviews conducted for the purpose of the study in countries including Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco.
Interviewees also indicated that the work in this sector was particularly hazardous due to the need to work outdoors in adverse weather conditions and exposure to intense heat or cold; long working hours during the harvesting season; and intense physical effort, especially in the case of small-scale farmers without access to labour-saving machinery. Agricultural workers are therefore are more exposed to work injuries than other groups.
The study highlighted that women face additional OSH challenges. They often work longer hours than men, balancing farm labour with domestic chores and child care. Women also have less access to productive assets on the farm, such as adequate machinery, and have to perform physically demanding tasks such as tilling, weeding, seed preparation and post-harvest processing.
Interviewees from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia expressed concerns about inadequate transportation, especially for women who often have to rely on unsafe means of transport to reach their workplaces. In Tunisia, Law 51/2019 was passed to regulate transport for agricultural workers, but according to the Forum Tunisien pour les Droits Economiques et Sociaux (FTDES), difficulties in enforcing this law persist.
The interviewees also pointed out that exposure to pesticides is a serious occupational hazard. Some workers mix pesticides by hand and do not wear protective clothing or equipment, exposing themselves and their families to toxic chemicals. The report also indicates that pregnant women face health risks due to exposure to toxic chemicals and pesticides.
3. Main Risks in the Sector
Agricultural workers are subject to multiple risks, including physical hazards for outside workers exposed to adverse climatological conditions such as heat, cold, humidity, rain and solar radiation; mechanical hazards such as injuries when using machinery, noise, vibration, etc.; or chemical hazards, such as plant protection products, biocides and fertilisers; and biological hazards, such as infectious agents that can cause diseases such as tuberculosis, tetanus, brucellosis, leptospirosis or rat fever, and typhus fever, etc.); allergies (pollen, insect bites...). Ergonomic risks and psychosocial risks are increasing causes for concern.
According to the European Commission’s guide Protecting health and safety of workers in agriculture, livestock farming, horticulture and forestry (European Commission, 2011), the most common causes of death in this sector are:
- Transportation accidents (vehicle overturns, workers struck by vehicles).
- Falls from heights (from trees, through roofs).
- Workers struck by falling or moving objects (machinery, collapsing buildings, bales, tree trunks).
- Drowning (in water reservoirs, slurry tanks, grain silos).
- Livestock-related (attacks, crushing by animals, zoonotic diseases).
- Contact with machinery (unguarded moving parts).
- Entrapments (under collapsed structures).
- Electricity (electrocution).
Some risks deserve special attention due to their serious implications in the health of the worker and their impact on the sector:
->Mechanical hazards when using farm machinery and vehicles
Tractors are involved in a large number of farm fatalities. Rollovers are a leading cause of tractor-driver fatalities in agriculture when appropriate safety measures are not taken. It is a persistent problem today. A Spanish study (García Ramos et al.; Fundación MAPFRE, 2020), reported 595 deaths due to tractor overturns in the past 10 years, that is approximately one death each week. In 91 % of these fatal accidents the tractors were not equipped with a roll-over protection system (ROPS) or the system was not activated. More than half (54 %) of these deaths were reported among farmers older than 60.
->Risk of exposure to extreme temperatures
Exposure to adverse climatological conditions (extreme temperatures, rain, wind …) is increasingly common in the agricultural sector as many tasks are done outdoors. In the light of the gradual rise in global temperatures, protection measures against weather extremes need to be improved.
->Risk of exposure to high-UV sun radiation
Farm workers are considered one of the most exposed groups to direct UV radiation, as they work for long, intense hours in the sun for many months of the year.
->Risk of exposure to chemicals
The chemicals most used in agriculture are phytosanitary products. In many cases employers do not have an occupational risk assessment plan and workers mix chemicals in the field or come into contact with treated crops, without personal protection equipment or with no protection measures in place. There is extensive documentation related to this aspect of working conditions in southern and eastern Mediterranean countries.
->Risk of exposure to biological agents
In farm work and when workers are in contact with animals or animal products, farmers are more likely to be exposed to biological agents. Rising global temperatures increase the prevalence of vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitos, ticks, etc.
->Ergonomic risks
Together with use of phytosanitary products, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are the most serious health problem associated to farm work. Ergonomic disorders are among the most prevalent occupational health conditions in agriculture, with many workers reporting backache and pain in upper and lower limbs.
->Psychosocial risks
There are many underlying factors related to stress and mental health problems endured by agricultural workers including workload, work pressure, financial instability, changes in regulations, uncertainty about the future, etc.
->Social and health-care challenges for migrant and seasonal workers
Migrant and seasonal workers are particularly vulnerable to occupational hazards in the agricultural sector, due to both increased exposure and the potentially severe consequences of accidents or illnesses. This vulnerability arises from multiple factors such as:
- Limited access to education.
- Lack of training and specialised skills.
- Need to use transportation.
- Precarious working conditions (poor accommodation, long working hours, low wages, etc.).
- Communication difficulties.
- Limited access to advisory services.
- Reluctance to declare occupational accidents and diseases.
- Limited access to accident prevention services and medical services.
4. What can farmers do to protect their own health and safety and that of their workers?
According to the occupational safety and health laws (transposed in Europe through OSH Framework Directive 89/391/EEC), in general terms employers are legally required to ensure the safety and health of workers in every work-related aspect, including prevention of occupational risk through prevention plans, and implementation of all necessary measures for the protection of the workers’ health and safety.
The preventive measures implemented by employers concerning OSH can be grouped according to the stages of the prevention process: risk identification and assessment, definition and adoption of preventive measures, compliance with additional obligations concerning occupational risk prevention, i.e. providing training and information on OSH and establishing health surveillance programmes. The main aspects of OSH can be summarised in the following main activities:
- Conducting risk assessments and implementing risk management plans.
- Providing OSH training for agricultural workers.
- Establishing health surveillance programmes.
- Improving safety of farm infrastructures and facilities.
- Replacing outdated tractors and machinery.
- Equipping tractors with roll-over protection systems (ROPS).
- Investing in new safety and ergonomic technologies on farms.
5. Policies to Strengthen Risk Prevention Culture in Agriculture
Public authorities, in collaboration with social partners, can promote a stronger risk prevention culture across the whole sector by:
- Launching awareness campaignscovering a wide range of issues affecting the agricultural sector, such as MSDs, exposure to hazardous chemicals, and heat stress, etc.
- Integrating OSH into agricultural education and researchthrough Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS).
OSH in agriculture is either not included or not sufficiently addressed in agricultural engineering, veterinary science and other study programmes related to the sector. Furthermore, OSH is not integrated in any research, extension and advisory systems. Agricultural advisory services play a key role in supporting farmers in all their activities with an aim to improve farms’ economic, social and environmental sustainability. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate OSH in business plans and activities and provide support through the AKIS farm advisory systems.
6. Labour Inspection in Agriculture
Labour inspectors carry out surveillance and oversee compliance with social security and OSH regulations on crop and livestock farms. However, enforcement is challenging due to the geographical remoteness of farms, the low density of on-site workers, and insufficient number of inspectors. In agriculture, the number of labour inspections per capita are likely to be less frequent than in other sectors when compared with others with similar accident rates such as the building industry.
All Mediterranean countries have ratified Convention C81 of the ILO with regard to the organisation of labour inspection, and most, with the exception of Algeria, Lebanon and Tunisia, have ratified Convention C129 of the ILO on agricultural labour inspection. Both conventions guide the Spanish national labour inspection policies.
Regular labour inspections, in cooperation with social partners, could contribute to a culture of risk prevention in the agricultural sector as part of broader OSH awareness initiatives.
7. Conclusions
The high fatality rate on crop and livestock farms, together with OSH-related injuries and diseases in the Mediterranean and worldwide are unacceptable. Official statistics, where they do exist, probably underestimate the true extent of these issues and may just be the tip of the iceberg.
Accidents at work and OSH-related illnesses threaten the economic viability and socioeconomic sustainability of the sector. The financial burden includes loss of productivity, insurance costs, and health-care expenses, while the non-financial, human costs include injuries, illness and loss of life. This results in a total human and economic cost that is often invisible and falls upon society in general (individuals, employers, government and ultimately, the taxpayer).
There are many solutions that can be applied to improve OSH in the sector and develop a genuine risk prevention culture. It is now a question of political commitment to implement them. An initial step forward could be the ratification by all Mediterranean countries of the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention C184 of the ILO.
References
García-Ramos, F.J. et al. (2019), Siniestralidad, mortalidad agrícola, vuelcos de tractores e incendios en cosechadoras, Fundación MAPFRE, 2010-2019.
Jones, A. et al. (2020). Review of the future of agriculture and occupational safety and health (OSH) Foresight on new and emerging risks in OSH. EU-OSHA, ISBN: 978-92-9479-390-4 doi:10.2802/769257.
Merisalu, E. et al. (2019). Variation in Eurostat and national statistics of accidents in agriculture. In: Agronomy Research, 17, 1969-1983.
SafeHabitus (2024). Deliverable 3.1 ‘Farm safety in the EU: Which injuries, and who is counted?’.
Sato, L. and Mohamed, N. (2022). The role of social insurance schemes in addressing the risks faced by agricultural workers in the Middle East and North Africa. Research Report No. 80, IPC-IG/UNDP, FAO and ILO.