Farmers know dangers but don’t act

FARMERS have generally a high awareness level in relation to safety but have a ‘disconnect’ when it comes to taking action on the issue, according to a psychology expert at NUI Galway.

One of the key issues from the context of a self-employed person is the conflict between productivity and safety, according to Dr. Denis O’Hora, from the the NUIG School of Psychology.

Dr. O’Hora told the National Conference on farm safety and health, that awareness of safety issues didn’t seem to be the problem with most farmers realising that their work could be dangerous.

He identified two main pressure sources that contributed to risks on farms – time and financial pressure – with farmers sometimes finding it difficult to take the slower but safer work option.

“In bigger organisations, there are identified safety personnel whose job is to develop and maintain safe practices. In a self-employed context, the conflict between productivity and safety often arises for the individual and this can make it difficult to choose the safer but sometimes slower practice.

‘Understanding what drives self-employed farmers is key to designing more effective farm safety programmes. Awareness does not seem to be the problem. Farmers realise that their work can be dangerous, but under pressure, they sometimes make decisions that expose themselves and family members to risks.

“Understanding farm safety issues means taking seriously the complex job that farmers do, and the complex environment in which they work, instead of just focusing on the immediate causes of accidents,” said Dr. O’Hora.

The National Conference on Farm Safety was organised by the Health and Safety Authority, Teagasc, the Farm Safety Partnership and sponsored by FBD Trust, and comes at a time when the death toll on Irish farms has risen to 19 this year.

Martin O’Halloran, CEO of the Health and Safety Authority said that he wanted to see safety becoming an integral part of farm management.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.