A Review on Ergonomics in Agriculture. Part I: Manual Operations

Abstract

Background: Agriculture involves several harmful diseases. Among the non-fatal ones, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most prevalent, as they have reached epidemic proportions. The main aim of this investigation is to systematically review the major risk factors regarding MSDs as well as evaluate the existing ergonomic interventions. Methods: The search engines of Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect were used to identify relevant articles during the last decade. The imposed exclusive criteria assured the accuracy and current progress in this field. Results: It was concluded that MSDs affect both developed and developing countries, thus justifying the existing global concern. Overall, the most commonly studied task was harvesting, followed by load carrying, pruning, planting, and other ordinary manual operations. Repetitive movements in awkward postures, such as stooping and kneeling; individual characteristics; as well as improper tool design were observed to contribute to the pathogenesis of MSDs. Furthermore, low back disorders were reported as the main disorder. Conclusions: The present ergonomic interventions seem to attenuate the MSDs to a great extent. However, international reprioritization of the safety and health measures is required in agriculture along with increase of the awareness of the risk factors related to MSDs.

Machine Learning in Agriculture: A Comprehensive Updated Review

“…To that end, the author’s affiliation was taken into account. In case a paper included more than one author, which was the most frequent scenario, each country could contribute only once in the final map chart ( Figure 6 ), similarly to [ 83 , 84 ]. As can be gleaned from Figure 6 , investigating ML in agriculture is distributed worldwide, including both developed and developing economies.…”

Work-related risk associated with musculoskeletal disorders amongst flower farm workers in Kenya

“…These tasks become more intensive during peak seasons since there is an increased demand of production. In addition, tasks such as transportation of the picked-flowers from the farm, transporting fertilizer to the farm, and even the routine farm nursery maintenance tasks exposed the farm workers to WRMSDs risk -this is also noted [1]. Lastly, the spraying activity involves loading the back with a knapsack sprayer containing pesticides or herbicides.…”

“…farms. This predisposes farm workers to workrelated musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) which are the greatest in prevalence of all of all non-fatal disorders [1]. The level of complexity and variety of the risk factors associated with WRMSD clearly explains the Agriculture is not only a backbone of economy in Kenya but also play a large role in the global economy.…”

“…An agricultural safety report [10] reported that agricultural activities rank among the highest occupational hazards globally and that, farmers are at very high risk for both fatal and nonfatal injuries. With the current high industrialization levels in agriculture, new farming equipment has been introduced, such as load-transfer devices [22], but limited attention has been paid to the overall ergonomic design and their usage [1]. Besides, prolonged working duration and working pace as risk factors have been brought about by increased work demands and competition to produce in large quantities especially in low-and middle-income countries [23].…”

Agricultural Workforce Crisis in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…COVID-19 has impacted the agricultural workforce, especially the pool of seasonal agricultural workers. These are often migrant workers, typically employed in the crop harvesting, who use highly dexterous and physical skills [11,12]. Lockdowns and restrictions in the mobility of workers across borders contributed to labor shortages, mainly in countries that rely on seasonal workers.…”