| Mirela STANCIU1, Mihai-Radu POP2, Agatha POPESCU3
Abstract. Contextual background: Agriculture is one of the most dangerous economic sectors worldwide, where traditional top-down training in occupational safety consistently fails to attract and engage the new generation of digital native farmers. To ensure sustainable generational renewal, occupational safety and health (OSH) education in agriculture must move from rigid compliance with regulations to dynamic interventions, capable of changing behaviours and reshaping the cultural habitus of the community. Objective: this mixed-method study synthesizes the global landscape of safety education interventions dedicated to the new generation of farmers, assesses contemporary European benchmarks, and situates these findings in the specific socio-economic context of higher agricultural education in Romania. Methodology: a systematic literature review was conducted in the main academic databases, targeting occupational safety educational interventions, published between 2021 and 2026. The data were triangulated with the communication kits and European good practices identified within the SafeHabitus project (Horizon Europe), covering case studies from various European countries. To validate the international benchmarks at the local level, a co-design workshop based on the design thinking methodology was organized with agronomy students from Romania. Occupational risks were mapped and interventions were outlined for vegetable and livestock farms. Results: the global synthesis reveals a major paradigm shift towards the use of immersive technologies (virtual/augmented reality) and micro-learning. The comparative analysis with the SafeHabitus model highlighted successful European interventions, such as AI-enabled reversing cameras and person detection (Germany), video competitions for young farmers (Finland) and integrated safety toolkits (Czech Republic). The design thinking workshop organized in Romania aimed to deeply understand the real context of farms (plants and animals), map work risks, identify prevention measures (technical, organizational, behavioural and training) and include these topics in the curricula of the relevant disciplines, with the recommendation of using AI tools for agriculture (Agri-AI), digital stories, etc. Conclusions: rethinking education on agricultural safety requires going beyond universal institutional models. To protect the future agricultural workforce, policymakers and universities must integrate co-designed, technology-based, and peer-validated training models that transform occupational safety from a regulatory burden into a core professional value for the next generation of farmers. Keywords: occupational safety and health (osh), farm safety culture, safehabitus, agricultural students, educational interventions, behavioural change, narrative review, design thinking DOI 10.56082/annalsarsciagri.2026.2.5 Read full article 1Prof., PhD, Eng. Habil., ” Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Food Industry and Environmental Protection, Associate Member of Academy of Romanian Scientists, (E-mail: mirela.stanciu@ulbsibiu.ro). 2Assist. Prof., PhD, Eng. ” Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Food Industry and Environmental Protection, Romania (E-mail:mihai.pop@ulbsibiu.ro). 3Prof., PhD., Eng. Ec., University of Agronomic Sciences & Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Romania, Faculty of Management and Rural Economy, Full member of Academy of Romanian Scientists, Corresponding member of the “Gheorghe Ionescu-Sisesti” Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences”, (E-mail: agatha_popescu@yahoo.com) |
PUBLISHED in Annals Academy of Romanian Scientists Series on Agriculture, Silviculture and Veterinary Medicine
ISSN PRINT 2069-1149 ISSN ONLINE 2344-2085 |
