Agri Aware will deliver a comprehensive national Farm Safety Programme, supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to improve farm safety awareness among secondary school students in both junior and senior cycle across Ireland.

With the agricultural industry being the most dangerous workplace in Ireland, increasing the understanding of the dangers on farms and educating people about safe farm practices is essential.

Agri Aware’s programme, Farm Safety First is bringing farm safety education directly into secondary schools across Ireland. The programme is designed to give young people the knowledge and awareness they need to recognise hazards and make safer decisions on farms.

Through repeated engagement across classrooms, webinars, workshops, videos and farm visits, the programme will support the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s wider objective of improving farm safety awareness and helping to build a stronger safety culture among the next generation.

The programme will provide schools with comprehensive curriculum-linked resources, including lesson plans, presentations, worksheets, webinars, hazard-identification activities and student project guidance. Students will also have the oppotunity to take part in two national live webinars featuring farm safety experts, interactive activities and student Q&A sessions, alongside two professionally produced farm vehicle safety videos focusing on practical safety measures and real-life consequences of farm vehicle incidents.

This classroom learning will be complimented by four farm visits, giving 2,000 students the opportunity to experience a working farm environment, identify potential hazards and see safe working practices in action. While classroom and digital resources will extend the programme’s reach nationwide.

Finally, students will be invited to take part in a national student farm safety challenge project, using creative projects and campaigns to communicate important farm safety messages to their peers.

Speaking on the programme Farm Safety First, Shay Galvin, Agri Aware Chairman, “Farm safety is an issue that affects every farming community, and it is incredibly important that we give young people the knowledge and awareness they need to stay safe when visiting or working on a farm. We are delighted to bring Farm Safety First into schools across the country, and more importantly getting schools out onto farms to gain hands-on experience about how important safe practices are. This programme wouldn’t be possible without the support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, we are very thankful and grateful for their continued support.”