The announcement that the Wales Farm Safety Partnership will receive £46,000 to promote Health and Safety within the agricultural and forestry sector, has been described as a milestone in tackling the problem by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.
The funding will be used to support the Partnership’s campaign ‘Working together to make farming safer’.
FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “This is a milestone in tackling the issue of farm safety and I welcome the announcement wholeheartedly.
“Considering that there were a tragic 144 fatal injuries to British workers in 2017/2018, with agriculture accounting for 29% of the fatalities, it is time we see a change in these statistics.
“I hope that through this program we can see a noticeable decline of tragic accidents and make our farms safer places to work.”
The FUW is a longstanding partner of the Wales Farm Safety Partnership and will continue to promote best practices in line with Health and Safety Executive Guidelines.
“We have long campaigned for better awareness and for farmers to make a change to their attitude towards farm safety. With this in mind, I hope that many more will engage with the Farming Connect mentoring programme, which has been running for two years now has helped over 100 farmers and foresters get a better understanding of the risks and hazards they face in their everyday working environment,” added Glyn Roberts.