1. (Peter.Lundqvist@slu.se, www.slu.se/aem)
ISASH Annual Conference 2016, Lexington, KY Integration of health & safety in farm business management – Swedish perspectives
Peter Lundqvist
Department of Work Science , Business Economics and Environmental Psychology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden

2. Somebody dies at work every week in Sweden! 2011……..:
8 out of 23 (35%) fatalities
……was a FARMER*!
* 46 – 65 years old (tractors (3), falling trees (2), hay bale, feed handling, construction work)

3. The Kuopio Declaration*
By the year 2012 – there should be no fatal injuries in Nordic agriculture
Develop national action plans against injuries in
agriculture involving all relevant stakeholders in the agriculture sector
Establish and enhance national resource/information and coordination centres for agricultural health and safety
* Nordic Meeting on Agricultural Safety and Health, Kuopio, Finland (August, 2006)

4. The Swedish strategy
Collaboration between involved stake-holders of health & safety in agriculture
A national program on injury prevention
Coordination of actions
Knowledge, attitude & behaviour in focus

5. Examples of initiatives
A large national program ”Safe Farmers Common Sense” (Säkert
Bondförnuft)
The aim was to reduce the number of injures in agriculture by 50 %
A nation-wide system with >140 supervisors (part-time farmers) meet farmers face to face (farm visits & with a group of farmers)
Financial support by the European Union (EU) – ended 2013
A special focus on farms with children and/or older farmers
Evaluation of results by SLU – a PhD dissertation is on it´s way

6. Marketing in Farming magazines & newspapers

7. Preventive measures on farm

8. The Ag industry, Authorities Organizations & all involved!
Swedish Agriculture:
The Ag industry, Authorities
Organizations & all involved!
A joint mission against
injuries in agriculture
Now – or never !

9. 2013 Historic figures: 0 work related injuries in Swedish agriculture
The goal from Kuopio declaration (2006): fatalities - was reached!
The result of a systematic work by the stakeholders & the farming industry ?
…or a co-incident?

10. 2014
2014 & 2015 – at least 8 fatalities in agriculture each year (2015 – 3 children)
Less resources and activites by stakeholders
Was it a co-incident with 0 fatalities or is it showing that agriculture still needs constant attention, support and active stakeholders to prevent fatalities?

11. Two further steps!
In order to break new grounds are we now initiating two new initiatives in order to integrate health and safety into the modern professional farming…….

12. Swedish certification standards for work in agriculture
An on-going process is leading to a standard and possibilities to be certified as a work place with healthy and safe working conditions.
The work is coordinated by Sigill Kvalitetssystem and involves a working group with stake-holders from the whole food-chain as well as health & safety experts.
The first goal is to include companies with field grown crops which often employs seasonal farm workers, mainly migrant workers.

13. The Swedish Centre for Agricultural Business Management
A national Centre affiliated with the Department of Work Science, Business Economics and Environmental Psychology, Swedish Univ. Agr. Sci. in Alnarp
Is lead by a Director, with the Dean as the chair of a Board together with the major sponsors; banks; agricultural organizations and private companies
Has a national reference group (farmers) and an international advisory board is being established

14. The Swedish Centre for Agricultural Business Management
Has a wide definition of business management with the human aspects in focus and with the goal to make the farmer a professional business manager and to make the farm a profitable business
The approach is that the Centre will have a large integrated proportion of injury prevention, work science and work environment management in research, education as well as in extension services
Health & safety should be a natural and obvious part of modern farm management

15. The Swedish Centre for Agricultural Business Management
Education – improve and further develop the education within the University as well as courses given to stakeholders & farmers
Research – further strengthen the research in this field (an adjunct Professor in Family business management, 3 new PhD students & new research projects)
Outreach – the farmers, the industry & stake-holders (communication expert, project leaders)

16. The Swedish Centre for Agricultural Business Management
We believe this could be one of the solutions in order to make health & safety a top priority among the professional & the future farmers!
An associate professor is being recruited to focus on working environment management on farms
Our approach has been presented for the Government which is now discussing ways of supporting our Centre within their new strategy for food production in Sweden
Started in January 2015 – evaluation after 3 years

17. A Farm = A ”Professional” Workplace & A ”Cozy” Home – needs to be separated from each other!
Questions – comments? Thank You!

18. A real case – a fence between home & workplace (in Poland)

19. ”The Farm – the best place to grow-up …if you survive