Across South Africa, farms are gearing up for harvesting season. This means that farmers and their employees will be spending long hours under the blazing hot summer sun, picking fruit or tending to crops making skin protection vital.
Which is why preventing heat stress amongst farmworkers is top priority for farmers, especially this time of the year.
Food For Mzansi spoke to several farmers and farmworkers who shared their top tips on how to avoid becoming ill from heat while harvesting this season.
Mzansi’s traditional make up
According to Athizintle Nkaqa, owner of Flying Eagle farming in Flagstaff in the Eastern Cape, sun protection is an important feature on her farm. Nkaqa said, usually this time of the season women can be seen rocking imbolo on their skin to protect them from the sun.
Imbolo, letsoku, ibomvu – whatever you may call it – is a usually red ochre that is processed into powder and then blended into a paste which is then used as body paint by both men and women.
“When I spray in the field utilising chemicals, I cover my face to protect my face from being hurt by the toxins.
“It doesn’t stop there; I also wear gloves, work suits, or long-sleeved gear, and I apply sunscreen to my face and visible areas while wearing safety shoes.”
Nkaqa said staying dehydrated is important, which is why she always takes a bottle of water with her into the field.
Hemp lotion and protective gear
Phiwokuhle Myoyo, a cannabis and hemp farmer in the Eastern Cape, said her job requires her to sit in the field and tend to her crops the entire day. This makes protecting her skin a top priority for her.
However, instead of turning to Mzansi’s traditional face mask, she makes use of a different kind of protective mask.
“I use a cannabidiol (CBD) and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) [infused] lotion manufactured from hemp. [This is] combined with our hemp oil, one of the items that we manufacture at our Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Resources Authority in the Amathole district, Eastern Cape,” Myoyo explained.
These items, she added, protect her skin long after spending days in the sun. She also applies it as aftercare.
In addition to this, Myoyo also wears a long-sleeved work uniform to shield herself from insects. She claims that the cream and oil mixture protects her all day without causing her to sweat.
Abitzfarming supervisor Justin Mwadala, from the Western Cape, is all too familiar with protective gear while working on the farm.
“We have plenty of water on hand, and on sunny days, we cover up with long garments and hats for shade.”
Exposure to the sun without a hat is likely to result in headaches, he explained.
More tips to avoid heat stress and skin damage on farms:
- Monitor temperature and humidity, and workers’ responses at least hourly in hot environments.
- Schedule heavy work and tasks requiring personal protective equipment (PPE) for the cooler hours of the day.
- Acclimatise workers gradually to hot temperatures.
- Shorten the length of work periods and increase the length of rest periods.
- Give workers shade or cooling during breaks.
- Halt work altogether under extreme conditions.
- Make sure employees drink at least the minimum required amounts of water to replace body fluid lost through sweating.
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