SafeHabitus Deliverable 4.1 Current and future drivers of agricultural change: Assessing the implications for working conditions and occupational stress amongst farmers and farmworkers

This report presents the detailed results of research undertaken to evaluate the extant body of literature concerned with working conditions in agriculture. The aim of the study was to identify and assess the sources of stress which farmers and farm workers are exposed to in their working environment, which affect their safety, health (both physical and mental) and well-being, and have an impact on long-term food security. As the environment in which farmers and farm workers work is changing, the study also sought to identify the causes - the drivers of change - that influence working conditions in agriculture and the occurrence of sources of stress. In doing so it contributes to one of SafeHabitus’ code objectives, namely to enhance understanding of the social and behavioural drivers of change on farming in the period to 2060 and assess the impact of current and future working and labour conditions on perceived attractiveness of farming or working in farming as a job. The analysis, based on a systematic literature review using the PRISMA approach and covers four key topics.

Chapter 1 explores psychosocial challenges in farming, identifying seven categories of stressors: economic pressures, social and community issues, environmental stressors, occupational hazards, health and safety risks, regulatory changes, and market dynamics.
Chapter 2 analyses how farming culture influences safety, health, and well-being. It identifies four main cultural stressors: gender identities, structural vulnerability and discrimination, ruptures in the moral economy, and risk perceptions and safety beliefs.
Chapter 3 focuses on social protection for farmers and farm workers, examining formal and informal social protection, discrimination and structural issues, and cultural and language barriers.
Chapter 4 investigates the impact of modern agricultural technologies on farmers' well-being, particularly automatic milking systems. Stressors include information overload, techno-intrusion, equipment maintenance, increased workload, animal training, lack of technological expertise, and debt burden.