The Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs has called out the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for 'lecturing' farmers following news that fatal farming accidents have more than doubled in a year.

Welsh Conservative Samuel Kurtz MS said farmers have had to work under very difficult weather conditions to deliver food to the nation’s dinner tables in a pandemic, and for the HSE to criticise farmers instead of helping them learn best practice was “tone-deaf”.

The idea that the pandemic caused extra stress and isolation – when farmers already disproportionality suffer along these lines – and led to increased accidents was backed by Tir Dewi, a Welsh charity that helps farmers cope with mental health issues.

The HSE report stated there were seven such deaths in Wales in 2020/21, compared with three in the previous year. The rise was also present across the UK with fatal incidents increasing from 23 to 41 in the same time period.

According to the HSE, agriculture has the worst rate of fatal injury among workers of the main industrial sectors – 20 times higher than the all-industry rate.

"It is not acceptable that agriculture continues to fail to manage risk in the workplace," said HSE's acting head of agriculture, Adrian Hodkinson.

"We need everyone to play their part to improve their behaviour, do things the right way and call out poor practices whenever they are seen."

He added: "It is disappointing to be highlighting another high annual fatality rate in the industry when the causes are well known and the precautions to avoid injury are straightforward."

Samuel Kurtz, Member of the Senedd for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, said: “There’s not a farmer in Wales that won’t tell you that accidents sadly come with the territory of working the land and feeding the nation. For the HSE to take this strangely aggressive and patronising tone with our nation’s providers is really unhelpful.

“Yes, work needs to begin urgently on reducing fatal deaths to zero, but that should come through education and sharing best practice, not lecturing all farmers on isolated incidents.

“I would urge my fellow farmers to make use of the Tir Dewi helpline and other charities such as the DPJ Foundation, use resources made available by their unions, and regularly do risk assessments.

“My message to the HSE would be that they’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar”.