Rapid Assessment of Occupational Safety and Health in Agriculture in Myanmar

In the second half of 2017, BuSoDev Myanmar in cooperation with Mesopartner (Christian Schoen) were commissioned by the ILO SafeYouth@Work Project to prepare a rapid assessment of the situation of occupational safety and health (OSH) in the agriculture sector in Myanmar.The assignment assessed the current OSH situation in agriculture in Myanmar with a specific view to identifying the hazards and risks faced by young workers (15 to 24 years) and thereby supporting the establishment of the project’s baseline in Myanmar. 

To cover a wide range of perspectives and sources of knowledge, the consultants employed a mix of desk research, stakeholder interviews at national and regional level and an agriculture worker survey to collect information and perceptions from those mostly affected by OSH in agriculture. The preliminary research results were presented and discussed in regional and national validation workshops in October 2017.

The assessment sought to understand the hazards in agriculture, to measure the likelihood that they will be realised and – in absence of reliable statistics – to collect evidence and anecdotes about real injuries and accidents and their health impacts. Moreover, the study discusses protective measures and workplace policies, legal framework conditions and requirements, related gender issues and recommendations for practical measures to improve the OSH situation in agriculture in the short and medium term.