1.0 Farm Safety

The term farm safety seems like what only farmers who lives and work on farms should know about. The truth is that everyone stand to benefit from learning about farm safety, even people who are merely visiting farms or those who keep backyard gardens. Farming is a common form of employment, providing jobs for lots of people all over the country; however, farm machinery, animals, chemicals, and storage areas can pose a serious risk to people who don't know how to protect themselves.

1.1 Agricultural Safety in Nigeria

One of the most important tasks for any developing economy like Nigeria is to develop the agricultural sector. A strong agricultural sector can increase and generate employment, promote self-sufficiency in food, improve the standard of living, increase the gross domestic product and contribute to general development.

Agricultural safety is still in its infant stages of development in Nigeria compare to most industrialized countries and some developing nations like Asia. The barriers that impede the growth and sustainability of farm safety in Nigeria include; unsafe use or practices; unsafe conditions, and lack of training in safe handling of machine and resources to increase safety to their own health and the environment. Capacity building through regular workshops and training for operators on safe machinery use and awareness programme on the effects of agricultural hazards on the public will reduce the incidence of accident in the agricultural production in Nigeria.

1.2 Farmstead

Farm workersincluding farm families, visitors and paid workerslives in a community where safety also remains an issue. Such environment is referred to as farmstead. The farm is both a work and a home environment for these families. Without a separation between these two environments, inhabitants can be exposed to tremendous risks. For instance, young children could interact with livestock, which are unpredictable and can harm children. However, care and guidance from adults can reduce the risks.

1.2.1 Farmstead Safety

Farm injuries are not limited to the field alone but it also occurs at the farmstead. The following precautions should be taken to avoid accidents in farmsteads:

Step 1:Have proper equipment: Use appropriate instrument in carrying out particular task within the farmstead. For instance use good quality extension cords for electrical devices. Use only double-insulated power tools.

Step 2:Preserve your equipment with good maintenance: Keep tools such as chain saws, oiled and sharpened.

Step 3: Use protective devices and preventive measures: Use appropriate masks when welding. Have guards or shields on all moving parts, such as shop equipment, grain fans, buzz saws, and augers. Use underground feeder lines around the farmstead instead of aboveground lines, especially around grain bins.

Step 4: Follow correct procedures: Always read the operators manual before operating any piece of equipment. Block equipment before working on it, dont rely on hydraulics or jacks! Always check around, under and inside vehicles, grain trucks, mowers, etc., before operating, to make sure the vehicle or machinery and the area around it are clear of people, especially children.

Step 5: Take special precautions for children: Fence off ponds, manure pits and stock tanks. Lock up chemicals, firearms, and your shop.

Step 6: Keep the premises Safe and orderly: Demolish buildings that are in danger of collapsing. Store chemicals and fuel in proper containers; keep toxic substances in original containers only.

Step 7: Be prepared for emergencies: What to do in case of natural disaster.

1.2 How to Improve Safety on the Farm

Safety on the farm starts by increasing your awareness of farm hazards and making a conscious effort to prepare for emergency situations including fires, vehicle accidents, electrical shocks from equipment and wires, and chemical exposures. Be especially alert to hazards that may affect children and the elderly. Minimize hazards by carefully selecting the products you buy to ensure that you provide good tools and equipment. It is expedient that you always use seat belts when operating tractors, establish and maintain good farm/housekeeping practices. Below are other steps you can take to reduce illnesses and injuries on the farm:

1. Inspect equipment routinely for problems that may cause accidents.
2. Install approved rollover protective structures, protective enclosures, or protective frames on tractors.
3. Make sure that guards on farm equipment are replaced after maintenance.
4. Take precautions to prevent entrapment and suffocation caused by unstable surfaces of grain storage bins, silos, or hoppers. Never walk on the grain.

Be aware that methane gas, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and hydrogen sulphide can form in poorly ventilated grain silos and manure pits. This can suffocate or poison workers or even causes explosion.

1.3 Farmers Safety Responsibility

The most important responsibility of any farm owner or manager is to ensure the safety and health of his or her employees and family members. Not only is it the right thing to do, but a safe farm protects the farm owner or manager by limiting the likelihood of costly accidents. Safe farms protect co-workers, children, other family members, and animals from accidental injuries that can destroy a livelihood and devastate a family. Most farm accidents are completely preventable. The smart farm owner or manager takes a proactive approach to farm safety by conducting regularly scheduled and thorough inspections of the entire farmstead.

1.3.1 Checks Around Agricultural Facilities

Farming is an inherently dangerous occupation primarily because of the number and variety of hazards that exist. Tractor-related accidents account for over half of farm fatalities. Other dangers include farm machinery, equipment, and grain handling facilities, animals, chemicals, and environmental factors. Young children, family members, and farm visitors are injured and killed each year from poisoning, drowning, electrocution, and falling from farm structures and equipment. Consequently, it is essential that farm owners and managers assess the entire farm for hazards. At the minimum, the following facilities should be inspected:

1. Barns and buildings
2. Animal facilities
3. Grain storage and handling facilities
4. Workshops
5. Chemical storage and handling facilities
6. Farm machinery
7. Fuel storage and handling facilities and
8. General farmstead

All operators of machinery need to be trained on operation and safety precaution in working with machinery. Before operating any machinery, a safety check/inspection should be performed to identify and eliminate any machine defects and safety hazards. Before operating equipment, you should ensure the following procedures are carried out:

1. Inspect all safety guards, including chain guards. If any guards are missing or broken, notify your supervisor immediately so they can be replaced or repaired.
2. Keep machine parts clean and free of accumulation of crop material, dirt or debris.
3. Check all of the hydraulic lines and fuel lines to make sure they are securely fastened and in good condition.
4. Notify your supervisor if you notice any leaks and bad connections so they can be repaired or replaced. Check hydraulic lines for pinhole leaks using cardboard paper only, not bare hand.
5. Make sure that all stops and starts are set correctly.
6. Check to make sure that the tension belts and chain drives are adjusted properly.
7. Never operate any equipment that is not in safe working condition.

1.3.2 Look Around Before Starting the Equipment

Error of oversight on hazard points and haste in getting work done could lead to serious injury. To prevent avoidable risks, the following precautions and checks should be taken:

1. Adjust your seat so you easily reach all controls and see all gauges and indicator lights.
2. After you have completed the initial safety inspection, you can turn on the power.
3. Make sure that everyone is at a safe distance away from the machine before starting.
4. Keep your mind on your work. Most agricultural machines require your concentration in order for the process to run safely and efficiently. Do your best to avoid distractions from your job.
5. Never jump start any equipment. If the machine does not start the way it was designed, inform your supervisor.

1.4 Consequences of Unsafe Practices and Neglects

Within the context of Nigeria organizational plan, the issues of safety are mostly considered non-essential in operational plans because management viewed it as inconsequential to their profit margin. Labour is considered cheap and thus overhead cost resulting from provisions for safety is grossly cut down. Every stakeholder has an obligation to safety in workplaces, but when not regarded, it results in hazards and injury. However, cost of safety is not only in monetary terms but it cuts across all the stakeholders (the employer, the employee and the environment) in job delivery in the following ways:

The Employer: Safety has the following consequences on the employer:

1. Loss of valuable production time due to unnecessary machine down time
2. Economic loss due to payment of accident claims
3. Litigation cost from organised labour (workers Union) and families on accident cases, etc.
4. Loss of valuable worker to injury or death due to lack of safework and safework procedure

The Employee: Consequences of unsafe practices on the worker or employee include:

1. Pain, scars, bruises, cut, and lacerations etc., resulting from shear, cut, wrap and pinch points
2. Bone fractures, mangled flesh and other complications that could lead to amputation, skin grafting etc., as a result of entanglement with rotating parts, etc.
3. Burns to body parts due to exposure to hot surfaces, chemical and other harmful liquids
4. Hydraulic fluid injection into the body, spray to the eye, face or blood contamination etc.
5. Injury due to rollover, fall, and trips from tractors, transport vehicles, ATV bikes and horticultural machines.

The Environment: Consequences of unsafe practices on the environment includes:

1. Noise pollution
2. Air pollution resulting from discharge of harmful particulate materials to the atmosphere
3. Consequences of fire outbreak due to charging of the atmosphere with flammable gases
4. Depletion of ozone layer due to poor handling of depleting substances such as refrigerants
5. Accident from poor visibility as a result of dust pollution

References

Farm safe, 2005. Safe operation of All-terrain Vehicles and All-terrain Utilities on Australian Farms: An Industry Strategy 2004-2009

Farm Safety Association fact sheet, 2002. Agricultural machinery hazards 22-340 Woodlawn Road West, Guelph, Ontario (519) 823-5600.