OHS Services and Management in Agriculture

Abstract

The systems approach to occupational health and safety (OHS) services and management in different sectors of employment have increasingly been recognized worldwide. Despite various endeavours, the vast global workforce in farming, amounting to nearly one billion, is grossly deprived of having access to OHS services. This contribution elucidates the core characteristics of the OHS management system (OHSMS) in different national and sectoral models. It analyses the effectiveness and challenges of the systems in the diverse sectors of employment, including farming. Besides, various OHSMS models and schemes have been elaborated with sector-specific applicability in different countries. The newly introduced ISO 45001:2018 has been suitably described to improve OHS effectively for all sections of occupational activity in both the developed and developing countries. The chapter brings a brief analysis of the challenges of OHSMS programmes for its application in the situations of SME, informal sectors, and agriculture, particularly in the populous nations like China and India. The implied challenge of permeating of OHS to the vast farming sector with small and marginal landholdings may be obviated through local infra-structure extensions, including public network building on good practices, and training at all levels. The step-wise processes designed as the basic occupational health services (BOHS) for the development of the OHS system in agriculture is illustrated. A suitable implementation of BOHS tailored to the country’s agricultural system is a viable avenue for development and continual improvement OHS facility. The strategy may be directed towards evolving a programme development that includes the participation of multi-dimensional stakeholders to the range of OHS functions and activities. With the participatory objective, the BOHS has the potential and promise to bring in innovative, cost-effective, simple, and flexible approaches for development on health and safety in the agriculture sector.