The workplace health and safety of primary producers in Victoria is the focus of a new government initiative, in an effort to reduce injuries and fatalities.
The Minister for Agriculture, Jaclyn Symes, has announced that the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has been granted a $3 million, as part of the ‘Making our Farms Safer’ initiative, to employ two new farm safety officers.
Farm safety officers work across the entire state, providing up to date safety information and advice to primary producers, including an initiative to work with farmers to complete ‘farm safety walks’. The walks are designed to assist farmers in better identifying any risks present and improve on-farm safety.
The grant announcement comes after figures revealed that two Victorians are injured on farms every day, and almost one farmer a month has been killed in the past six months.
The farm walkthrough initiative is aimed at reducing injury or death on Victorian farms, including those closely associated with farming, including employees, farmers, suppliers and contractors.
The government has recognised that changes to attitude and focusing on safe farming practises needs to be an industry-driven initiative, and the VFF has been instrumental in establishing new practices.
The grant is part of a larger $20 million commitment by the Victorian Government, aimed at addressing skills and safety issues in the farming and primary production sector.
Minister Symes explained that “lives are forever changed by workplace deaths – all of them devastating and needless. That’s why we’re working with industry to reach as many people as possible and change the attitudes around farm workplace safety.”
“We want our farms to be safe places for those who live, work or visit them. The work that the VFF will carry out with this grant will make a difference in achieving this for all Victorian farms.”