Agricultural accidents in north eastern region of India

An investigation was conducted to characterize the agricultural accidents, their magnitude, causes, severity and economic consequences in one of the states of north eastern region of India, Arunachal Pradesh. The accident data for 6 years between years 2000 and 2005 were collected by conducting a survey and personal interview of the victims in 42 selected villages of 4 districts. Agricultural accident incident rate was 6.39 per 1000 workers/year. All the accidents were non-fatal. Farm implement-related accidents accounted for 40% of the accidents. Slashing of shrubs accounted for one-third of the accidents causing cut and hit injuries of moderate severity. Twenty-five per cent of the accidents occurred on the way to or from the field leading to severe or serious injuries. Two-third of the accidents occurred within 4 h of start of work. Thirty-three per cent of the victims were 40-49 years of age. Based on the analysis, both passive and active measures have been suggested to minimize or prevent the occurrence of agricultural accidents. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.