Health and safety awareness of Maltese farmers

Abstract

The study attempts to give a picture of the state of farms in Malta. The level of education in health and safety awareness among Maltese farmers, the equipment and the perception of the farmer and how prepared the farmer is to cooperate with the health and safety needs. Life for the Maltese farmer is not easy. Suffice to say that most of them have to work hard to make ends meet. The implementation of health and safety legislation to the Maltese farmer means that there are more expenses (e.g. to buy personal protective equipment). Most of the farms are family-run with just one employee or none, the farmer and his wife tending the fields and the wife producing other products such as dried tomatoes, olives in oil and pickled vegetables among other things. The interviews revealed that although mostly are aware about precautions on health and safety, farmers do not bother to take the time to do whatever is necessary for their own benefit. The study revealed that although 50% of the farmers knew about the implementation of Health and safety most of them only knew the term and not the contents of the law, and did not even bother to be informed in order to comply. To achieve a higher level of health and safety in farmers it is recommended to introduce health and safety through education - both through courses and visits on farms. As farmers do not take kindly to fines it is recommend to approach the matter through a "friendly" attitude.