{"id":2767,"date":"2025-11-04T11:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/?p=2767"},"modified":"2025-11-04T11:34:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T14:34:35","slug":"climate-change-impacts-the-health-of-agricultural-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/2025\/11\/04\/climate-change-impacts-the-health-of-agricultural-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate change impacts the health of agricultural workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daniel Pires Bitencourt, Researcher at Fundacentro, Associate Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Occupational Health<\/em> (RBSO), Florian\u00f3polis, SC, Brazil. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Brazilian<\/a>Brazil\u2019s agribusiness sector – including agroindustry, agricultural inputs, and services – employs approximately 28.5 million people, accounting for about 26% of the national workforce, according to the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics, Cepea (2025). Among them are countless Brazilians who work daily under scorching sun and heat, or in heavy rain often accompanied by strong winds and lightning. They also face extreme droughts, air pollution from wildfires, exposure to pesticides, and vector-borne diseases – conditions that, according to the International Labour Organization (2024), represent the most significant health impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n

Farming has never been easy\u2014but now, with new climate scenarios driven by global warming, the challenges are even greater. The essay Climate Change, Decent Work and Workers\u2019 Health in Brazil: Theoretical Considerations<\/a>\u00a0(Vol. 50, 2025), published in the Dossier Sustainable Development and Work of the Brazilian Journal of Occupational Health<\/em>\/Revista Brasileira de Sa\u00fade Ocupacional <\/em>(RBSO), opens the academic debate on the issue and offers key insights for tackling the problem. The study was developed through a partnership between the Brazilian Ministry of Health and the University of Nottingham, UK, led by researchers Edgar Rodr\u00edguez-Huerta, Lu\u00eds Henrique da Costa Le\u00e3o, and Todd Landman.<\/p>\n

The article opens with a broad overview of Brazil\u2019s agricultural landscape, emphasizing the heightened vulnerability of agricultural workers\u2014a condition shaped by historical and cultural influences. The study underscores that safeguarding the occupational health of these workers involves a wide array of protections, framing it unequivocally as \u201ca matter of human rights.\u201d The authors further argue that agricultural labor, within the human rights framework, is intrinsically linked to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly highlighting its relevance to SDG 13: \u201cClimate Action\u201d (Levy BS and Roelofs C., 2019).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Graph<\/a>

Image: Created by the authors.<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Figure 1 – Multilevel connection and interrelation between human rights, decent work and workers\u2019 health<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While it may seem self-evident, government and society often overlook the role of workers in the process. In discussions about agriculture, the impacts of climate change are frequently framed solely in terms of production, with little attention given to the health and well-being of workers. In their essay published in RBSO in March of this year, the authors highlight the challenges, limitations, and knowledge gaps surrounding agricultural labor, worker health, and the growing influence of climate change.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>

Imagem: Via Pexels<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

This groundbreaking study establishes a direct link between the health of Brazilian agricultural workers and climate change, while also proposing potential solutions to address this complex challenge. The authors emphasize that effective decision-making must encompass all stages of the process\u2014including research, surveillance, risk assessment and management, as well as policy development and regulatory action.<\/p>\n

One of the study\u2019s central findings highlights the profound impact of climate change on agricultural workers, particularly those already marginalized by poverty, discrimination, gender and income inequality, and limited access to essential resources. According to the authors, these intersecting vulnerabilities contribute to conditions that resemble \u201cslavery-like practices\u201d\u2014a harsh reality that, regrettably, still persists in parts of Brazil.<\/p>\n

To read the article, access<\/h3>\n

RODR\u00cdGUEZ-HUERTA, E., LE\u00c3O, L.H.C. and LANDMAN, T. Climate change, decent work and workers\u2019 health in Brazil: theoretical considerations. Revista Brasileira de Sa\u00fade Ocupacional<\/em> [online]. 2025, vol. 50, eddsst12 [viewed 4 November 2025]. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1590\/2317-6369\/16224en2025v50eddsst12<\/a>. Available from: https:\/\/www.scielo.br\/j\/rbso\/a\/kKcgSbkdqgjrXr9rW9WQBKn\/<\/a><\/p>\n

References<\/h3>\n

Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate. Geneva: International Labour Organization. 2024 [viewed 4 November 2025]. Available from: https:\/\/www.ilo.org\/publications\/ensuring-safety-and-health-work-changing-climate<\/a><\/p>\n

Impacts of climate change on workers’ health and safety. Oxford Research Encyclopedias. 2019 [viewed 4 November 2025]. Available from: https:\/\/oxfordre.com\/publichealth\/view\/10.1093\/acrefore\/9780190632366.001.0001\/acrefore-9780190632366-e-39<\/a><\/p>\n

External links<\/h3>\n

Boletim Mercado de Trabalho do Agroneg\u00f3cio Brasileiro: 1\u00ba trimestre de 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

gov.br | Mudan\u00e7as clim\u00e1ticas e seguran\u00e7a e sa\u00fade no trabalho<\/a><\/p>\n

Revista Brasileira de Sa\u00fade Ocupacional \u2013 RBSO<\/a><\/p>\n

Revista Brasileira de Sa\u00fade Ocupacional (Fundacentro)<\/a><\/p>\n

Revista Brasileira de Sa\u00fade Ocupacional \u2013 X<\/a><\/p>\n

University of Nottingham – UK | China | Malaysia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We rarely stop to consider the journey our food takes – from preparing the land for planting to reaching the tables of Brazilian families. At the start of this journey there are the agricultural workers, who carry out a heavy workload and face growing challenges to their well-being, safety, and health – challenges that are being intensified by climate change. …<\/span> Read More →<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":973,"featured_media":2774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12,236,235,164],"tags":[237,76],"class_list":["post-2767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","category-rbso","category-rbso-week","category-special-weeks","tag-brazilian-journal-of-occupational-health","tag-education"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/973"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2767"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2798,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767\/revisions\/2798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleases.scielo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}