Health and Injury Outcomes among Agricultural Workers of India

Authors: Rathi MA*

DOI: 10.23880/aphot-16000275

Volume 7, Issue 4

Abstract

The traditional occupation of India is agriculture with 66% of the total population engaged with agriculture and is the backbone of the country’s economy. Agriculture is one of the most hazardous occupations, with many workers experiencing occupational accidents and ill health. Strenuous long hours work under open field conditions, stress due to climate variations, global warming and use of toxic substances affects the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of the agricultural workers. Health outcomes associated with these hazards range from simple conditions like skin problems to the complex disease like cancer. Occupational problems include accidents (machine injuries, snake and insect bites), toxic hazards (chemical exposures and insecticide poisoning), physical hazards (extreme temperature conditions like sun stroke, solar radiation leading to cancers, skin conditions), and respiratory problems (farmer’s lung, occupational asthma), psychological disorders (depression, suicidal tendency), chronic conditions (multiple joint arthritis, kidney disease). Overall accidents incident rate in agriculture is 334 per lacs out of which fatal accidents are 5.6 % whereas non-fatal accidents are 94.4%. Agriculture workers do not have proper knowledge and attitude towards the safety and program to overcome the diseases they face. An awareness through health education programmes and utilization of advance technologies can work for reduction of disease impact or can prevent the occurrence of disease leading to minimizing its burden on the health care cost.

Keywords: Agricultural workers; Occupational Health; Occupational Problems; Physical hazards

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