Heat stress risk assessment of farmers working in a hot environment: What about in Zambia?

Abstract

Introduction

Farmers are vulnerable to heat stress due to the nature of their work and the environment. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the heat stress risk among rural farmers in the Monze and Sioma districts of Zambia.

Method

Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) readings were taken by trained farmers to assess environmental heat stress risk. Additionally, structured questionnaires on heat stress risk at the workplace were used to assess the personal experience of 200 farmers from September to November 2021.

Results

Male (n = 92) and female (n = 108) respondents had a mean age of 45.4 years (SD = 13.75) with 97.5 % of respondents being crop farmers. WBGT readings of greater than 28 °C, which is considered an upper heat stress risk threshold for a heavy workload, were recorded. Results revealed 62.5 % of the farmers were at risk of developing heat stress, with multiple factors emerging as potential contributors to the risk.

Conclusions

There is a growing heat stress risk among farmers in Monze and Sioma, along with a need to investigate heat stress effects on productivity and specific drivers of heat stress that consider differential geographical and population demographic variations. Climate adaptive and mitigative measures, including Indigenous knowledge-based approaches used by communities in rural area's should be assessed.