Ergonomic Risk Factors Associated with Pineapple Harvesting Task in Northeast India

Abstract

Manual pineapple harvesting is one of the most critical and challenging tasks in pineapple farming. This study assessed the ergonomic risk factors associated with pineapple harvesting task in northeast India. A total of 152 pineapple farmworkers (92 males and 60 females) were studied using the standard Nordic Questionnaire for musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) and direct observation. Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) tool was employed to assess the key working postures adopted during the harvesting task for a sub-set of the respondents (12 males and 8 females). The present study found that MSS was highly prevalent (79.61%), and low back (76.32%) was the most affected body part among the farmworkers. The work postures with high-risk score of 8–10 (action level 3) and very high-risk score 11 or more (action level 4) were 30% and 70%, respectively. This study also highlighted a high-risk score of 8–10 (action level 3) for more than 80% of the participants during the pineapple loading task for local transportation. Farmworkers were exposed to various ergonomic risk factors, which include awkward work postures, repetitive tasks, heavy load carrying, and improper rest-pause might be linked to the prevalence of MSS among the farmworkers. Moreover, walking uphill or downhill on hilly terrain during the harvesting imposed an additional burden on the farmworkers. Based on the results, there is an urgent need to explore effective preventive interventions suited to local conditions for improving the working conditions and occupational wellness of the pineapple farming population in northeast India.