Focus on helping field workers cope with the heat
FAO calls for increased labour safety for difficult and dangerous agricultural and forestry jobs
17 April, Rome - FAO has urged governments and the private sector to improve labour safety in agriculture and forestry, sectors whose back-breaking jobs are among the most dangerous. In a bid to reduce health risks and even death, FAO has published two papers mapping ways to improve worker health and safety.
Released at the 6th International Forest Engineering Conference in New Zealand, both papers contribute to the quest for decent employment, an important goal in the Sustainable Development Agenda.
"On-the-job risk factors are well known and many for forestry and agricultural workers, yet more has to be done to reduce and control them," said FAO Forestry Officer Jonas Cedergren, who presented the work.
More than three-quarters of the world's poor live in rural areas, where many depend on agriculture including fisheries and forestry to make a living. "The work they do is often difficult and dangerous," Cedergren said. [read the full article]
The two publications launched in the article are now available under the Occupational health and safety in forestry module
or accessible through direct links here below:
Accident reporting and analysis in forestry - Guidance on increasing the safety of forest work