Assessment of Physiological Strain Due to Work and Exposure to Heat of Working Environments in Male Paddy Cultivators

Introduction: Indian agricultural sector has been undergoing changes since 1950s. The record production of food grains from 50 million tons in 1950 to 241 million tons in 2009-10 is hailed as a breakthrough in Indian agriculture. However, agricultural sector in India is till date significantly dependent on non-mechanized techniques. An agricultural worker has to perform variety of tasks including ploughing, transplanting, threshing which require great physical effort. During the paddy cultivation, agricultural workers are engaged in the work field though out the day in different thermal conditions. Objective: A study has been carried out, in this backdrop, to assess the thermal environmental condition and effect of work and exposure to heat on physiological status in 31 male agricultural workers primarily engaged in transplanting of paddy seedlings tasks in southern area of West Bengal. Results and conclusion: The result of the study has indicated that environmental condition was above the recommended threshold value and the activities are strenuous as indicated from indicators of physiological strain.