[Monitoring occupational hazards and farm machinery injuries]

The Mutualité Sociale Agricole (MSA--French social security agency) closely examines the circumstances and consequences of the accidents and diseases occurring in agriculture as part of the professional activity of farmers and their employees. During work as such, identified as being the first source of accidents, approximately 35,000 and 70,000 accidents occur each year, respectively to farmers and employees. In both populations, the accident frequency is around 60 out of every 1,000 insured persons. The evolution is positive for employees, but serious, non-fatal accidents remain a major area of concern. Accidents to and from work mainly involve employees. Their number has markedly decreased and the anualy frequency is close to 3 out of every 1,000 employers. The number of occupational diseases is constantly increasing, mainly as the consequence of the recognition of periarticular diseases. This article also summarizes the main conclusions of a French survey conducted in 2003 among 50,000 wage earners in the agricultural sector, as part of the medical monitoring of professional risks (SUMER).