Health and Safety in EU Agriculture

Health and safety have long been recognised officially as issues in EU agricultural occupation, but pose specific problems of definition, measurement and policy action. About 500 people per year die while working in EU agriculture, forestry and fishing, and there are about 150,000 non-fatal accidents at such work, as well as work-related physical and mental health problems. Incidence rates are generally higher than in other sectors. Moreover, on-farm accidents happen to a very wide range of ages, from the very young to the relatively old. There is no clear pattern of incidence rates across EU Member States, for a number of possible reasons. Policy action can take a number of forms, but must take into account changes in farming technology, and the need to reach a wide range of potential casualties