Occupational Safety and Health Practices In Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisations, Western Kenya Region
Abstract
The Kenya agricultural and livestock research organisation (KALRO) western region is divided into KALRO - Kakamega (non-ruminant) and KALRO-Kitale (food crops) mandated to innovate, improve techno logical activities that touch on the environment and the livelihood of people. Such practices should comply with occupational safety and health Act (OSH A, 2007 ) standards. The aim of the study was to assess safety awareness at KALRO-Western Kenya region during the months of April to June 2016. Structured questionnaires, checklist, photographs and observation tools were used for data collection and analyzed using statistical package (SPSS). Study shows that75% of the respondents in KALRO-Kakamega and 79% o fthe respondents in KALRO-Kitale (χ2=.187, df=1, p=.665) agreed that both institutes had safety and health policy. Respondents in KALRO-Kakamega (55%) and respondents in KALRO-Kitale (63%) (χ2=.813, df=1, p=.367) had access to such policies necessitating requirement for sensitization to access policy document. Respondents in KALRO-Kakamega(55%) and respondents in KALRO-Kitale (52%) (χ2=9.482, df=4, p=.050) indicated that only qualified service engineers maintained machines and equipment. The respondents in both KARLO institutions read labels before using the chemicals KARLO Kakamega 88.7% and KARLO-Kitale 84.2% (χ2=.511, df=1, p=.475 ).Compliance to Safe work procedure as per institution (KALRO-Kakamega 70%, KALRO-Kitale 63%) (χ2=.570, df=1, p=.450) . From the research findings, there were no significant differences in predictor factors for safety awareness at both KALRO-Kakamega and KALRO-Kitale. Training of workers to identify, classify and quantify hazards should be enhanced at the two institutes in order to raise their safety awareness levels as per (OSHA, 2007) standards .
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Introduction
The KALRO Western Kenya Research Institutes were created under the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act of 2013.The Institutes’ main focus is to develop improved technologies that support the upgrading and commercialization of both the non-ruminant livestock and food crops value chains. . KALRO-Western research Institutes conducts focused research on non-ruminants (pigs, poultry, and rabbits) and food crops (cereals, grain legumes, and root and tuber crops) with a potential for commercial farming (KALRO, 2017) .
The agricultural production carried out in KALRO-Western Kenya involves crops and live stocks activities. The interaction relationship between people, machines, work environment activities bring about occupational safety and health issues (Kohn, P.J. :Friends, A. M. :Winterberger, 1996) . There is n o known study carried out to establish the extent of imp lementation of OSH A standards at the two research institutions since incorporation of KALRO - Mandate – Nationally.
An occupational safety and health plan, anticipates and prevents health problems or hazards that are caused by the work which people do or in novate (Rukunga, 2001) . Promotion of safety and health to workers is part of the battle against major scourges of poverty, ignorance and diseases that is still handicap to many developing countries such as Kenya (Glanville, Schilling, & Wood, 1979) . The owners or occupiers of Agricultural Production institute in Kenya are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA, 2007 ) to carry out initial risk assessments in order to manage their risks at the source. S ystematic application of management policies, proc edures and practices to tasks help identifying, analyzing, evaluating, treating and monitoring Risk (Hughes & Ferrett, 2008) . Process whereby decisions are made to accept known or assessed risk and/or the implementation of actions to reduce the consequences of probability of occurrence is referred as risk management (Jeremy, 2006) . Risk management covers a wide range of hazards and these can be conveniently categorized under the general headi ngs of environment, technical/economic and social/people hazards. Thus risk management is a system of managing risks at work (GOK, 2004) . KALRO-Western, like any other production system in Kenya, i sexpected to create a safe work environment and ensure workers are not affected by workplace hazards in their operations, for efficient and effective unit achievement of their mandate. The purpose of this study was to determine safety awareness among work ers and managers in KALRO - Western Kenya region.
Conclusion
From the research findings, the management and workers in KALRO-Western Kenya region access the safety and health policy which is evidence based for decision making in creating safety awareness . There were no significant differences in predictor factors for safety awareness at both KALRO-Kakamega and KALRO-Kitale. Positive predictors of safety awareness in the two research organizations included compliance to safe work procedures, reading pestic ides labels before handling or mixing, good machinery maintenance practices, knowledge of handling plant and animal waste, in line with(OSHA, 2007) standards.