Health and Safety Risk Assessment
Producers are required to develop a written Health and Safety Risk Assessment, which takes into consideration all hazards that may cause harm to people or animals, such as chemicals, moving machine parts, electricity, working from ladders, etc. It must be updated when hazards change or new hazards arise (e.g. use of new machines or plant protection products, modified cultivation practices, etc.). (AF 3.1.1)
GLOBALG.A.P. has developed a guideline that explains how to conduct a risk assessment in general. (See Annex AF.1 GLOBALG.A.P. Guideline – Risk Assessment – General).
Many governmental and non-governmental safety organizations provide information on how to conduct a Health and Safety Risk Assessment.
Inspectors are required to verify that the risk assessment is appropriate for the conditions on the farm.
Recommended Internet Resource: “The Health and Safety Executive of the United Kingdom: Agriculture health and safety”.
This requirement is still applicable regardless of whether a producer has any workers or subcontractors. Even if the producer is the only person working on the site, he still needs to be aware of all the possible risks on his farm and how to protect himself. He can provide evidence of training documents or regional / sector elaborated documents that describe the general risks.
This is not permitted because this poses a definite risk to the workers, even if they are subcontractors, and even if the driver is driving slowly. It’s important that the producer considers this situation in the Health and Safety Risk Assessment and develops procedures for the identified risks, which must then be implemented.