The specific aims of the international workshop are to raise the level of awareness and understanding about agriculture and its relationship to rural health, occupational health and the environment; and to gain knowledge about related research and intervention activities. The goals of the workshop are [a] to bring together key policy makers, leading researchers, and agribusiness personnel for the purpose of understanding current agricultural production practices and their relationship to public health and the environment in rural areas of Central and Eastern Europe; [b] to identify and prioritize research needs at the interface of agriculture, occupational, and environmental health; [c] to discuss and plan strategies for effective public health interventions for rural populations, especially for those engaged in production agriculture, and [d] to formulate a plan about how agriculture, health, and environmental leaders can work together to generate adequate financial support and human resources necessary to create a better rural society during the time of harmonization with European Union policies for agriculture, health, and the environment. The workshop will accomplish the goals by bringing together about sixty invited delegates from five countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Western European organizations and the United States. The workshop will identify environmental and occupational health problems in agriculture that may be unsuspected or underestimated, and provide focus for future research and intervention strategies. The invited delegates will be researchers; high-level policymakers from the ministries of health, agriculture and the environment; public health officials; academics; and nongovernmental organizations that are concerned with rural and environmental health.
