The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned about risks to which agricultural and forestry workers are exposed at the 6th International Forest Engineering Conference (FEC2018) Quenching our thirst for new knowledge held on 16 – 19 April 2018, Rotorua, New Zealand. Sources: Prensa Latin, Timberbiz
In a document ‘Heat administration for agricultural workers’ and ‘Report and Analysis of Accidents in the Forestry Work’, the specialized body called on governments and the private sector to improve labor security in those sectors where ‘extenuating tasks are done, considered the most dangerous to health’.
The first document calls attention on the increase in mortality rates due to heat related illnesses, the most acute problem in tropical or arid climates of south eastern Asia, Subsaharan Africa and the Pacific, where temperatures are regularly high throughout the year, even fatal for their health.
These could be reduced ‘with adequate organization and education’ says the document. The analysis of accidents in silviculture also calls to adopt a system of standardized reports so the interested parties and authorities may better identify prevention efforts.
It demands that ‘accident reports be impartial, free of censure for fear of the implication of responsibilities and offer data capable of suggesting solutions to experts’.
According to the text, the introduction of more efficient and secure machinery can reduce deaths in that sector by 75% and even more in some countries.
More than three-fourths of the poor of the world live in rural zones where many persons depend on agriculture, fishing and forestry, and the work is usually hard and dangerous, stressed Jonas Cedergren, forestry official of FAO, as he presented both documents at the 6th International Conference of Forestry Engineering, hosted by New Zealand.
