As new figures from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) reveal that farming continues to have the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK and Ireland, Stephanie Berkeley, from the Farm Safety Foundation, the charity behind Farm Safety Week, explains why today should mark the beginning of a new chapter for safer farming.
There has been a lot of discussion recently about food security and how the food industry has a central role to play in the government’s levelling up agenda. It is present in every part of our country and is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, bigger than automotive and aerospace combined. But it goes without saying that food manufacturers can not succeed without the farmers who supply them with high quality produce.
For an industry so central to strengthening food security and growing the economy, those who work in farming are vulnerable. New figures released today by the HSE show that farming continues to have the poorest safety record of any occupation with 27 people losing their lives on GB farms in 2023/24.
In a sector that accounts for one per cent of the working population, agriculture still accounts for 17 per cent of all deaths in the workplace. Today’s report highlights that, while the total number of people losing their lives on GB farms remained the same as the previous year, there was an increase in the number of farm workers killed in the workplace in 2023/24. A figure of 23, up from the 21 recorded in 2022/23 with nearly 40% of those workers over the age of 65 years.
Tragically, two of the four members of the public killed were children. One child was killed by a moving vehicle and the other was killed by a collapsing wall.
It’s a similar story in Northern Ireland where there were an additional 7 farm-related workplace fatalities in the period 2023/2024 with one still under investigation (HSENI) bringing the total to 34 people confirmed to have lost their lives on UK farms over the past year.
In addition to the numbers of lives lost on farms every year, what about the 23,000 cases of long-term ill health and serious injuries to workers that happen every year on GB farms?
Risky business
Farms can be dangerous places to visit, to live and to work. The fact is that there are more risks associated with farming than any other industry and while we can’t eliminate them completely, we can, and have, to minimise them.
In our annual 2023 research, 88% of farmers in the UK believe that ‘complacency’ – always having it done that way – is a major contributor to having a farm accident while 82% cite’ attitude’ as the major contributor.
We know it, the industry knows it, but if we don’t address these things openly and honesty, things will never change.
For over a decade now, Farm Safety Week has been an important focus in the farming calendar and we are proud to manage and fund it.
In the year Farm Safety Week started, 37 people lost their lives on GB farms and, over the past decade, this figure has been steadily decreasing. Yes, there have been improvements made over the years but we’re just not seeing the widespread change in attitude towards safety, and behaviours that will bring those numbers down further.
This figure is not zero, not yet and maybe not ever but it’s a step in the right direction. We are starting to see safety improvements in some areas, but the pace of change is slow – too slow for the 34 families across the UK that lost a loved one over the past year.
While the Farm Safety Foundation team are proud of what we have achieved, Today’s report highlights there is still much more to be done to address the risks and dangers farm workers face every day providing food for the nation.
This year’s Farm Safety Week offers an opportunity for a real reset of the way we approach farm safety and risk-taking. As Sue Thompson, Head of Agriculture at the HSE said: “Farmers are rightly proud of a reputation of being able to fix anything on the farm; machinery, fencing, equipment, anything. The challenge now is whether farmers can fix the industry’s broken health and safety record.”
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