Korea, Japan and Finland have joined forces to improve health and safety for their farmers.
Seoul recently hosted a symposium on the current state of work-related diseases and disorders among those involved in the agricultural industry and on strategies to prevent such problems, on June 1 at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul.
Organizers invited health care experts from the three countries to share their thoughts on the current state of occupational health hazards in the industry in their respective nations, as well as measures to protect from such disasters.
During the session, Professor Kimmo Rasanen of the University of Eastern Finland gave a presentation entitled “Lessons of Farmers’ Occupational Health Services in Finland for Korean Agriculture.” In the lecture, the Finnish professor defined a set of factors that might get in the way if Finland’s Farmer’s Occupational Health and Service (FOHS1) system were adopted in Korea. He also suggested possible ways to make the system work here, as well as ways to back up health services for farmers across the domestic agricultural industry.
Japanese Professor Hiroji Tsujimura from Shiga University brought out a set of measures to deal with musculoskeletal risk factors among farmers, measures based on data that examined about 300 farming families in the highland region of Nagano Prefecture in Japan. His lecture was titled “Health Conditions and Workload of Vegetable Farmers in the Highland Regions.”
The conference hosted a Farmers’ Health, Safety and Sustainable Society exhibition, too, featuring a variety of photographs, equipment and educational documents all related to agricultural safety and health. The goal was that the exhibits would help visitors get a better understanding of health issues surrounding their food supply and agriculture in general.
“Nothing is more important than protecting against ill health among farmers, as they are vulnerable to an aging workforce and are less likely to have access to health services,” said an official from Korea's Rural Development Administration. “In that regard, this symposium will, hopefully, help develop a network between experts in the field from around the world, allowing them to freely exchange information, with the goal of having such an occupational ill health protection system in place in each country.”
The event was held as part of the 31st International Congress on Occupational Health which is currently underway at COEX and lasts until June 5. The international congress brings together more than 3,400 experts in the health care industry from about 120 countries every three years. They share with each other a series of research results, personal experiences and statistics that all involve the health and safety of farmers.
By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: the Rural Development Administration of Korea
jiae5853@korea.kr
Seoul recently hosted a symposium on the current state of work-related diseases and disorders among those involved in the agricultural industry and on strategies to prevent such problems, on June 1 at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul.
Organizers invited health care experts from the three countries to share their thoughts on the current state of occupational health hazards in the industry in their respective nations, as well as measures to protect from such disasters.
Health care experts from Japan and Finland present their findings when dealing with health problems that farmers endure while at work, during a symposium held at COEX in southern Seoul on June 1.
During the session, Professor Kimmo Rasanen of the University of Eastern Finland gave a presentation entitled “Lessons of Farmers’ Occupational Health Services in Finland for Korean Agriculture.” In the lecture, the Finnish professor defined a set of factors that might get in the way if Finland’s Farmer’s Occupational Health and Service (FOHS1) system were adopted in Korea. He also suggested possible ways to make the system work here, as well as ways to back up health services for farmers across the domestic agricultural industry.
Japanese Professor Hiroji Tsujimura from Shiga University brought out a set of measures to deal with musculoskeletal risk factors among farmers, measures based on data that examined about 300 farming families in the highland region of Nagano Prefecture in Japan. His lecture was titled “Health Conditions and Workload of Vegetable Farmers in the Highland Regions.”
The conference hosted a Farmers’ Health, Safety and Sustainable Society exhibition, too, featuring a variety of photographs, equipment and educational documents all related to agricultural safety and health. The goal was that the exhibits would help visitors get a better understanding of health issues surrounding their food supply and agriculture in general.
“Nothing is more important than protecting against ill health among farmers, as they are vulnerable to an aging workforce and are less likely to have access to health services,” said an official from Korea's Rural Development Administration. “In that regard, this symposium will, hopefully, help develop a network between experts in the field from around the world, allowing them to freely exchange information, with the goal of having such an occupational ill health protection system in place in each country.”
The event was held as part of the 31st International Congress on Occupational Health which is currently underway at COEX and lasts until June 5. The international congress brings together more than 3,400 experts in the health care industry from about 120 countries every three years. They share with each other a series of research results, personal experiences and statistics that all involve the health and safety of farmers.
By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: the Rural Development Administration of Korea
jiae5853@korea.kr
