Farmers learn about Employment Act, Occupational health and safety |09 May 2025

Farmers learn about Employment Act, Occupational health and safety

The Employment department in collaboration with the Agriculture department recently organised a half-day workshop as part of ongoing efforts to sensitise and familiarise employers of the agricultural sector on the Employment Act, Occupational health and safety as well as standards for pesticides handling on farms.

The workshop, which was held at the Anse Boileau Research Station, was a follow up of an interactive tour conducted in 2024 by the Employment department as part of activities to commemorate Safety Week.

This session was requested by farmers who wanted to acquire knowledge on respective legislations and on various aspects of the Employment Act.

During the session, senior officers from the Extension Services of the Agriculture department, made a presentation on the standard needs to be followed on farms when handling pesticides.

Through visits being carried out on farms, it has been observed that not all standards are being respected, with regards to use and storage of pesticides on farms. With the increased number of expatriates working on farms, it is very important to ensure that they are competent in handling pesticides. This will reduce negative impacts on their health, that of other workers on the farms and the consumers of produce from the farms.

There has been an ongoing effort on the part of the department to educate farmers on the use of pesticides and the importance of following all procedures to prevent health and environmental risks. Farmers are also encouraged to make use of alternative methods in the management of pests on the farms, to reduce dependence on toxic pesticides. These include, sanitation on the farms, to destroy breeding areas of pests, use of natural substances to manage pests and crop rotation, to disrupt the life cycle of pests.

During the workshop, farmers were reminded on the importance of ensuring that all employees who are handling pesticides on farms have followed the pesticide handling training, which is conducted by the Seychelles Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture, after which they receive a pesticide handling, competency certificate, which is valid for three years. All this forms part of efforts to ensure that all farm employees are not at risk from negligent use of pesticides.

This training workshop will be followed in other regions to cover more farmers.

Contributed by the Agriculture department – Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment