Within the scope of the EUR 17.6 million grant component of the Improving Occupational Health and Safety Especially in Mining Sector Project (MISGEP), in which Directorate General of Occupational Health and Safety is the Operation Beneficiary and the Directorate of European Union and Financial Assistance (DEUFA) is the Contracting Authority, opening meeting was held for the OHS Training and Biomonitoring of Farmers Related With Pesticide Usage Project carried out by Başkent University.
Opening speeches of the meeting were made by Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security Prof. Dr. Lütfihak ALPKAN, Director General of Occupational Health and Safety Mr. Cafer UZUNKAYA, Founder of Başkent University and President of the Executive Supreme Board Prof. Dr. Mehmet HABERAL, President of Başkent University Prof. Dr. Ali HABERAL and the Head of Department of the Directorate of European Union and Financial Assistance (DEUFA) Ms. Süreyya ERKAN.
In his opening speech, Prof. Dr. Lütfihak ALPKAN emphasized that the pesticide is a very important issue in terms of both public health and occupational health. Mr. Lütfihak ALPKAN stated that many experts contributed from the application phase to the approval and implementation phases of this project, which he believes will be crucial in making great progress in Turkey’s fight against pesticide-related risks, and expressed his opinion that this project will make significant contributions to public and occupational health.
In his speech, Director General of Occupational Health and Safety Mr. Cafer UZUNKAYA stated, “It is our greatest wish that such a study will be effective by using all the capacity of Başkent University, its professors, and therefore the esteemed experts of the Directorate of European Union and Financial Assistance (DEUFA) and the experts of our Directorate General, and that the study will reach the relevant parties. We would like to express that we will keep the excitement we feel at the opening of the project in all phases of the project. OHS is first and foremost a culture, and our universities are extremely important in the creation and development of this culture. In an environment where plans and projects are made for days to save a single human life, we cannot tolerate even one person being exposed to an occupational accident or occupational disease due to negligence. The agriculture sector is a sector where both machines and chemicals are used. Therefore, it is a sector that requires effective work within the scope of occupational health and safety, as it contains risks for both occupational accidents and occupational diseases. For this reason, we are constantly exchanging information and cooperating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, EU Member States, the Union of Turkish Agricultural Chambers and our universities. There will be a great progress in eliminating the risks as this project will examine the pesticide use and will reveal the problems and solution proposals in the sector through scientific means with the determination of the pesticide exposure of 300 farmers. It is extremely exciting to initiate such an important project and to be with such an esteemed group of people.
We are extremely happy to carry out this project with Başkent University, and I send my greetings to all the participants who are trying to solve this important problem regarding OHS afflicting the world and Turkey.”
In his speech, Prof. Dr. Mehmet HABERAL stated that the objective of Başkent University is to serve Turkey and to produce for it. He pointed out that Turkey is country of agriculture and that this is something to be proud of. He stated, “As a country, we have to produce and we have to take care of the health and safety of our employees while producing.” He emphasized that he is proud to launch this project, which is initiated in order to prevent the exposure of the agricultural sector employees to harmful chemicals and to protect their health.
Prof. Dr. Ali Haberal stated, “As Başkent University, we are in close cooperation with many institutions of our government. Today, we are initiating the OHS Training and Biomonitoring of Farmers Related With Pesticide Usage Project, which is one of our collaborations. Occupational health and safety is an issue that closely concerns all sectors, from health to heavy industry, from construction to agriculture. Agricultural areas occupy a very large area in our country’s geography. Pesticides and some other chemicals are widely used in the agricultural sector. The use of these chemicals without proper awareness causes side effects on products and has adverse effects on humans and nature. Considering that occupational diseases are among the biggest problems of our country, the importance and necessity of this project and therefore our responsibility increases. On behalf of our university, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this project.”
In her speech, Ms. Süreyya ERKAN stated, “The field in which we are most in harmony with the European Union legislation is occupational health and safety. Although occupational health and safety is associated with sectors such as construction, mining and metal, our Occupational Health and Safety Law also legally guarantees the rights of the agricultural employees. The OHS Training and Biomonitoring of Farmers Related With Pesticide Usage Project carried out by Başkent University will make positive contributions both in the field and to the literature. I hope that this project, which we have started to implement, will achieve successful outputs and results to contribute to the programme objectives.”
After the opening speeches, the project coordinator Ms. Arzu FIRLARER gave general information about the project. The programme was concluded after the speeches of Deputy Director General Mr. Furkan YILDIZ, Deputy Director General of General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM) Mr. İhsan ASLAN, Deputy General Manager of General Directorate of Food and Control Dr. Yunus BAYRAM and Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Presidency of Strategy and Budget, Head of Agriculture Department of the Directorate General of Sectoral and Public Investments Mr. Mustafa BULUT.
Within the scope of the MISGEP Grant Component, a total of EUR 6 million grant support was provided to the projects prepared by the beneficiaries such as NGOs, professional organizations and vocational high schools in order to improve the occupational health and safety conditions for the mining and other very dangerous sectors. In this project where the pesticide use will be examined, which targets the agricultural sector that includes groups with different characteristics and whose workforce is largely self-employed, the problem of exposure to pesticide in this sector and the solutions to the problem will be handled with a scientific approach with the determination of the pesticide exposure of 300 farmers. The project is of great significance as it is primarily a project to raise awareness of farmers and their social circles, including their families, about occupational exposure due to the pesticide use in agriculture.