The Rural Voice, 1979-09, Page 30Preserving the
family farm
around the world
Farmers from four continents met in
August in Charlottetown, P.E.I. at the
International Family Farm Consultation, to
discuss a common problem - the preserv-
ation of the family farm.
Farmers from Bangladesh, Bolivia,
Kenya and 20 other developing countries
spent a week prior to the meeting touring
farms in Saskatchewan and Quebec.
When they arrived in Prince Edward
Island, they were joined by farmers from
other countries, including Canada, Den-
mark, Ireland, the United States, France
and Italy. They were guests in the homes of
30 P.E.I. farm families. _
Host of the conference was the Institute
of Man and Resources, an energy -oriented
NGO in P.E.1., in co-operation with the
governments of Saskatchewan, Quebec
and P.E.I. Inter Pares, an Ottawa -based
NGO, has taken on secretariat duties.
The participants focussed on the prob-
lems of family farms because such enter-
prises are the agricultural mainstay of most
countries, whether the farms are worked
independently, collectively or co-operative-
ly.
Hopefully the meeting will produce an
agenda for future action in support of farm
families.
Study to
pinpoint
farm hazards
Farming is the third most hazardous
industry in Canada, says the Ontario Farm
Safety Association, but a project is
underway to pinpoint dangers on South-
wester n Ontario farms.
The province is funding the $8,000 study
to gather information about the causes of
farm accidents. Three University of Wes-
tern Ontario students have been employed
as researchers under Experience '79.
Last year, 46 people were killed and
2,314 injured in farm accidents, and not all
accidents were reported, says Larry Swinn,
Farm Safety Association spokesman.
An 11 per cent increase in lost time due
to injuries in 1978 shows there is a need for
greater safety awareness on the farm, says
Mr. Swinn.
'The three students will study 70 case
histories of farm accidents in order to
determine patterns of similar mistakes
made by farmers.
The project, which runs for 14 weeks,
will be submitted to the labor ministry.
PG. 28 THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1979
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