A pesticide firm wants to provide PPEs for farmers to solve some of their concerns on low and wrong PPE usage and help sustain their health as they continue to provide food for the country.
BAYER AG, a German pharmaceutical firm, is aiming to start selling PPEs and safety kits to Filipino farmers.
These protective gears will help protect them from chemical hazards in farming.
According to the company, Bayer Crop Science (BCS) is implementing a pilot project in a few of the agricultural towns in the country such as in Buguias and La Trinidad in Benguet, as well as in Bayambang, Pangasinan and Concepcion, Tarlac.
The safety package is composed of 2 filter face masks, nitrile gloves, and goggles.
“While Filipino farmers seeking good yields ensure that their crops are protected from insect pests and diseases, most farmers do not use the complete recommended PPE at the time when spraying is necessary,” said BCS.
This project is done because of the observations gathered from a survey – only six out of ten farmers wear a face mask when using crop protection products.
Those who do wear do not use the appropriate kind as well.
It is important for farmers to protect themselves from potential inhalation of the product due to dispersal and wind changes. Ideally, the FFP2 type of face mask should be worn.
“FFP2 masks have three layers of synthetic non-woven materials with the inclusion of filtration layers between, and they provide sufficient protection for farmers,” said BSC Regulatory Stewardship and Compliance Lead David Cristobal.
Even in using gloves and goggles, only a small percentage of Filipino farmers do so.
“As part of our stewardship efforts, we make it a point to train farmers on the proper application of crop protection products, which includes wearing full PPE when spraying,” said Iiinas Ivan Lao, Country Commercial Lead for Bayer Crop Science.
The PPE set should include boots, long-sleeved shirts, trousers, nitrile gloves, filter masks, and goggles.
These farmers claim to not use these protective gears because of the cost, unavailability, and lack of comfort.
“We’re hoping that this project can solve some of the concerns of farmers on low and wrong PPE usage and that this will help sustain their health as they continue to provide food for all of us,” said Lao.
(EFO)
Tags: #agriculture, #personalprotectiveequipmentm #BayerAG