Facilitating participatory work improvement in agriculture

Practical support measures for facilitating participatory practices to improve health and safety in agriculture are examined based on recent experiences in developing countries. It is useful to know the effective types of participatory action-oriented methods that emphasize locally feasible good practices by farmers in different work situations.     Participatory field activities undertaken by partners of the network for work improvement in agriculture (www.win-asia.org) are reviewed. These activities are reported from Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Senegal and other countries in Asia. Africa and Latin America. They apply participatory action-oriented training developed as WIND (work improvement in neighbourhood development) methods. Special attention is commonly placed on multifaceted feasible improvements based on local good practices.     The participatory programmes reviewed usually have led to numerous improvements in agriculture. It is proven useful to develop action-oriented tools, such as action checklists and practical guides based on locally achieved good examples, including typical risk-reducing improvements. The locally adjusted nature of the tools is found essential in applying the WIND methods in various countries. These programmes are effective when a clear emphasis is placed on: (i) feasible good practices as locally practicable goals; (ii) planning of multiple low-cost and risk-reducing actions reflecting basic principles of occupational hygiene and ergonomics; and (iii) feedback by reporting improved practices in each local situation. Trainers of the WIND methods act as facilitators to help farmers plan and implement feasible good practices. The exchange of positive experiences from different countries is beneficial for upgrading the action tools in different situations.     The design of action-oriented tools incorporating locally feasible improvements is particularly important. The tools are effective when they emphasize simple improvements that have risk-reducing impact in each local situation. It is recommended to promote locally adjusted design of action tools incorporating locally achieved good examples.