Recommendations for Program Improvement - Agriculture Forestry and Fishing Research at NIOSH - page 191

forestry, and fishing. The AFF Program should use this council to establish an effec-
tive mechanism for input into policy and programs that includes representation of
principal stakeholders, including AFF producers, workers, and their representatives;
labor and farm management contracting agencies; the private sector, including
AFF corporations and AFF service and supply industries; those delivering health
and safety programming; researchers; and appropriate government policymakers.
Most Ag Centers already have regional advisory structures whose members in-
clude farmers, ranchers, and other commodity growers, thereby insuring access
to stakeholders. By establishing a meaningful national advisory group that truly
represents the needs and concerns of all worker groups, AFF Program research
and interventions will more fully meet their objectives. The committee commends
recent NIOSH efforts to establish advisory mechanisms for the agricultural and
fishing sectors. Such efforts need to be broadened to cover all of AFF in a more
representative manner.
6.c: The AFF Program should continue to partner with appropriate federal
and state agencies and establish additional interagency partnerships to increase
the capacity for carrying out research and transfer activities. Federal and state
governments are secondary stakeholders that if fully engaged could profoundly
amplify NIOSH's efforts; such federal agencies as the USDA, the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are natu-
ral allies to engage in such partnerships. The committee commends NIOSH for
its partnerships with EPA and NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS), which continue to bolster work in organophosphates and other
pesticide exposures. The AFF Program could expand its interagency partnerships
to include federal agencies that handle food and animal issues, such as the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration and USDA's Agricultural Research Service, Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service, and Food Safety and Inspection Service. The
USDA Forest Service should serve as a partner in providing information and col-
laboration on forestry research, a field lacking sufficient expertise in the nascent
forestry component of the AFF Program. AFF Program staff could work more
closely with DOL to devise methods for more accurately capturing employment
data on agriculture, forestry, and fishing. For transportation injuries, the AFF
Program would be well served with interagency collaborations and non-profit
partnerships, such as with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National
Safety Council, respectively.
Given the regional nature of the 10 NIOSH Ag Centers, state agencies serve as
vital resources and potential partners. Some Ag Centers have successfully worked
with cooperative extension services, state occupational safety and health agencies,
state environmental protection agencies, and state departments of agriculture and
should continue to engage in these valuable partnerships.