The Farm Safety Partnership (FSP) has welcomed Rural Support which has been awarded full FSP member status.
The partnership is made up of stakeholders with an interest in farm safety and whose key aim to to reduce work-related fatalities and injuries on Northern Ireland farms.
Since its inception in 2012, the FSP has aimed to change the farming community’s attitudes in relation to farm health and safety awareness.
It has said that all partners welcome Rural Support’s membership as a “positive step forward” in helping the partnership achieve its aim of zero on-farm fatalities.
Welcoming Rural Support to the FSP, chair Harry Sinclair said: “I am delighted to welcome our new full member, Rural Support, to the Farm Safety Partnership family.
“They have proved their commitment to keeping health and safety issues at the front of their activities, and along with the other FSP partners they will play an essential role in keeping our farmers and their families safe and well.
“It is only by working together with all of the partners that we will be able to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Northern Ireland farms and I would encourage all other stakeholders with a passion for farm safety to apply to join the affiliates scheme.”
Rural Support
Rural Support was established in 2001 to deal with the emotional trauma of the farming and rural community after the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak.
It initially started as a helpline for distressed farmers and their families but has recently extended its services to provide one-to-one business, financial and technical mentoring.
Rural Support is supported by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the Public Health Agency and other stakeholders that hold the same objective of reducing emotional distress in farming communities.
Rural Support has said it is also at the forefront of the development and operation of a Social Farming Support Service in Northern Ireland which aims to provide a unique solution to meeting the social needs of disadvantaged citizens.
Veronica Morris, Rural Support chief executive, said: “I am delighted that Rural Support has been asked to be a partner of the Farm Safety Partnership.
“There are many synergies between our activities and the work of the partnership, and we look forward to working together to improve health and safety across the agri-sector in Northern Ireland.”