Agricultural Supply Chains
Improving Safety and Health in Agricultural Supply Chains
Food and agricultural supply chains represent a high percentage of global trade, both in terms of value and volume. Compliance with fundamental principles and rights at work is of direct relevance to the agri-food sector and the rural economy, both in terms of guaranteeing labour rights and for accessing market/trade purposes.
Agriculture is one of the three most hazardous sectors of activity. Every day, agricultural workers face a wide spectrum of risks at work. However, they do not always understand the risks to which they are exposed as part of their work, and often lack the knowledge or the means to prevent OSH accidents and injuries.
Sector
Team
Maria Munaretto, Project Coordinator
Schneider Guataqui Cervera, National Project Coordinator
When
October 2022 to December 2023
February 2024 to May 2025
Development Partners
European Union
Project code
GLO/23/34/EUR
GLO/22/12/EUR
Expected outcomes
Working in partnership with government agencies, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and private sector companies, Vision Zero Fund is now implementing an initiative to enhance stakeholders´ commitment to promoting occupational safety and health in the coffee and sugar cane supply chains.
At the global level, the Fund focuses it efforts on two supply chains: coffee and sugar cane.
Coffee
Coffee is produced in more than 50 developing countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. It is an important source of income for 20 to 25 million families worldwide. And women make up an estimated 70% of the workforce in the sector. As between 20 and 30% of coffee-producing economic units are run by women, their participation is increasingly recognized.
Since 2018, Vision Zero Fund has been working to improve workers’ OSH in the coffee supply chain.
In 2023, the Fund launched the #CoffeePeople campaign, to promote the right to a safe and healthy working environment.
In 2024, the campaign will prioritize the implementation of awareness-raising and learning activities at the global level (learning webinars and dissemination of the #CoffeePeople documentary), and in Brazil and Uganda.
Sugar cane
Sugarcane production has steadily increased over the past several decades, doubling over the last 20 years.
Workers involved in the production of sugar cane are affected by a number of occupational accidents and are exposed to the high toxicity of pesticides. They may also have an increased risk of lung cancer, related to the practice of burning foliage at the time of cane cutting. In recent years, research has pointed out to the relationship between workers’ kidney injury risk and sugar cane workers with strenuous jobs. The results point to the need to increase efforts to prevent kidney injury among sugarcane workers, and other heat-stressed workers, by improving access to water, rest and shade.
In 2024, the Fund is conducting research on the drivers and constraints for improving OSH in the sugarcane supply chain in Colombia and on the health and working conditions of vulnerable workers in the supply chain. Research findings will inform the development and implementation of social dialogue and capacity development activities to remove OSH deficits.
This project is co-funded by the European Union.
