An Analysis of Safety and Health Issues in Agriculture Towards Work Automation

Agriculture is a sector which employs a plethora of workers worldwide and has experienced a lot of technological advances that has improved the farmers’ standard of living to a great extent. Remarkably, however, it is still regarded to be among the most hazardous occupations. By their nature, the activities associated with agriculture are physically demanding, while farmers are usually exposed to adverse weather conditions and working environments. Although working conditions vary along the globe, the health problems stemmed from agriculture have reached alarming proportions. It has long been recognised that agricultural workers may suffer from noise-induced hearing loss, respiratory, cardiovascular and skin disorders, reproductive impairments, various types of cancers as well as heat and agrochemical related illnesses, to mention but a few. Furthermore, farmers exhibit a high incidence of musculoskeletal injuries, because of the fatigue they experience due to the nature of the activities that necessitate repetitive bending, kneeling, lifting and working with awkward body postures. Besides, the partial mechanisation of the sector has created new sources of dangers, such as whole body and hand arm transmitted vibration, which led to new syndromes that have caused concern. To meet these challenges, several control measures have been implemented for the protection of the farmers ranging from elimination and substitution of the hazard to engineering and administrative controls, with the personal protective equipment being the last solution. In this chapter, a comprehensive picture of the aforementioned hazards is given in conjunction with the health problems that can provoke and the ways for risk assessment as well as the control measures.