Faced with economic hardships, climate concerns, and mounting scrutiny on the farming community, farmers have long suffered from mental health issues.
This has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and now the Ukraine war, which has seen energy, feed, and fertiliser prices skyrocket.
In this Special CAPitals edition of the Agrifood Brief, EURACTIV’s network takes a look at mental health concerns in the farming community across Europe and the support on offer to help farmers and break the stigma around talking about mental health in the profession.
GERMANY
Women hit hardest. As much as 17% of all cases of agricultural workers taking sick leave in 2017 were due to mental health issues, according to data from the sector’s social insurance provider SVLFG, making this the second most common reason for health-related loss of income in the farming sector.
More recently, a study commissioned by the German agriculture ministry and published on 22 September found that mental health pressures are especially high for women in farming.
This is because, in addition to sector-specific stress factors like existential fears or cost pressure, women in the sector often take on additional responsibilities, like caring for family members, which contribute to their workload and the pressures on their mental well-being, according to the study.
Meanwhile, the issue is also increasingly being tackled by both policymakers and institutions in the sector.
“We attach great importance to the topic of mental health among farmers,” a spokesperson of the German agriculture ministry told EURACTIV Germany, adding that the topic “also comes to the fore among other actors”.
For instance, the SVLFG launched a campaign last year set to boost the mental health of those insured through it through targeted consultation offers, crisis hotlines, and online courses. (Julia Dahm | EURACTIV.de)
FRANCE
Prevention is key. According to the most recent data from the agricultural social security system (MSA), 529 suicides were recorded in 2016 – almost two per day, a rate 40% higher than the average for the French population.
Yet, according to an expert roundtable who gathered to discuss the issue back in June, farmers chronically tend to deny or minimise their difficulties, which often prevents them from reaching out for help. And there is no question of giving themselves the slightest respite.
“The farmer is the last person to worry about himself. His animals and his farm come first. He comes last,” Christelle Guicherd, psychologist and doctoral student at the University of Lyon, stressed.
The issue of detection is central to prevention. For several years now, several warning systems have been set up, such as the AGRI’ECOUTE telephone number and the volunteer-run Agri Sentinels Network, which aims to detect, alert and direct.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of the year, the government launched a Plan for the Prevention of Malaise in Agriculture, which aims to provide answers to this tragic phenomenon and to expand the implementation of sentinels.
“What is new about the ill-being of the agricultural world is that there is now a global public policy (with economic, social and political aspects taken into account…) and which builds on what has already been done,” Daniel Lenoir, the plan’s interministerial national coordinator, told EURACTIV back in June.
The Prevention Plan also provides for various aid and support actions that are currently being implemented. They will be steered by national committees and departmental technical committees with economic, health, social and political referents. (Hugo Struna | EURACTIV.fr)
ITALY
Men hit hardest (but little has been done). Mental health remains a taboo in Italian society and the agriculture sector is no exception, with little information available and a dearth of policies to address the issue.
The most recent study on suicides in the agricultural, fishery and forestry sector was conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) in 2021, surveying over one million workers between 2012 and 2017.
The study found suicide mortality of 36% in men, with a higher rate among long-hours workers and casual and fixed-term contract workers. However, researchers are still uncertain about the contribution of work-related factors to suicides even though an increased risk of suicide affects those with a heavy workload of up to 55 hours or more per week.
Other elements such as living in isolated areas and not having a family can increase the psychological fragility of farmers compared to workers in other sectors.
The research also found a high prevalence of other mental health problems, including symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as poor access to psychological protection services.
For this reason, they suggest policymakers do more in terms of effective surveillance of the working conditions, with particular attention to screening for work-related stress, social isolation, and mental health problems.
While no policy addresses the issue of farmers’ mental health, the concept of social agriculture is quite developed in Italy. Social agriculture aims at improving the physical and mental health of people through the possibility of work in the countryside, with a focus on reintegrating disadvantaged people into society.
A memorandum of understanding with different ministries established stations of ‘forest therapy’, recognising the beneficial effects of visiting protected natural areas on psychophysical wellbeing. (Gerardo Fortuna | EURACTIV.com)
SPAIN
No specific support on offer. In the Spanish national public system, there is currently no specific program to address the mental health problems of agricultural producers, nor does it exist in the autonomous regions that have the responsibilities in healthcare matters.
However, little by little, new initiatives emerge. That is the case of the Ebro Resilience project, where there are some experts that offer personal and psychological support for every individual damaged by the swelling of the river Ebro.
But farmers’ organisations and associations, with their headquarters deployed throughout the national territory, still do not have the adequate support tools either to deal with mental health problems linked to agriculture or livestock farming.
Cristina Linares, a researcher in the unit of Climate Change, Health and Environment of the Health Institute Carlos III, explained to EFE Agro that one of the social and personal effects of the drought can be “stress, anxiety and even depression”.
According to Linares, droughts, which spread across half of Europe last summer, cause losses in the way of life of many farmers, which could then affect their mental health, especially because, in some cases, this results in the loss of their livelihoods. (Lucía Ruiz | EFE Agro)
POLAND
Underfunded, out of focus. Mental health in general is an under-reported topic in Poland, and even more so when it comes to the mental health of agricultural workers or rural residents. As a result, the mental health of farmers is a rarely discussed topic, although there were 186 recorded farmer suicides in 2020 and 168 in 2021.
The most frequently raised mental health issues for farmers are stress, fatigue, and depression, as well as occupational burnout.
However, this changed slightly with the 2020 COVID pandemic, which placed a stronger focus on mental health issues.
One of the most neglected fields of medicine in Poland is child psychiatry. For those living in rural areas, contact with a specialist is hampered by the long distances between hospitals and outpatient clinics, and poor mental well-being adds to the sense of isolation.
The situation is, of course, similar for adults living in rural areas, with an average wait time of 76 days in Poland for an appointment with a psychologist, funded by the public health fund. (Bartosz Sieniawski | EURACTIV.pl)
IRELAND
Farmers feel ‘under siege’ by climate policies. Mental health is a major issue in Irish farming communities. According to Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, a recent Irish study shows that 27% of farmers reported their wellbeing was ‘poor’ or ‘below average’, whilst a further study found that the most common sources of work-related stress are weather, workload and money.
But another prominent issue is policy change and regulation.
“It definitely has had a significant impact on mental health, particularly the increased regulation, paperwork and the more targeted requirements associated with policy changes,” Edel McEvoy, policy executive at the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), told EURACTIV, adding that farmers feel ‘under siege’, particularly in relation to pace and timeframe of climate policies.
Moreover, there is a stigma associated with mental health in areas of rural Ireland, which has prevented farmers and farm families from seeking support, she added.
In recent years, a number of new government initiatives have been created, such as ‘On Feirm Ground’ which involves training agricultural advisors to engage with farmers on their health and wellbeing ‘over the farm gate’.
Meanwhile, the IFA has created a number of guides, such as the ‘Dealing with Stress‘ information leaflet, produced as part of the Farm Safety Week 2022.
The farmers’ association also partner with SeeChange, Coillte and Mental Health Ireland to host an annual community walk throughout the country as part of the annual Green Ribbon campaign.
The campaign aims to bring rural communities together and create a space to talk openly about mental health with ambassadors and mental health professionals to increase awareness of mental health and help end mental health stigma. (Natasha Foote | EURACTIV.com)
AUSTRIA
EU supports mental health project. Ensuring the psychosocial well-being of those living and working on farms is the aim of the project ‘Farm Quality of Life’, co-financed by the Austrian federal and regional governments and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
One of the key services offered by the project is an anonymous, nationwide helpline meant to function as the first point of contact for farmers who face psychological problems or feel overwhelmed.
According to the country’s Chamber of Agriculture, the helpline staff is trained both to have the necessary psychological skills and some expertise in farming and those issued most often faced by farmers on the ground, such as economic pressures or intergenerational conflicts. The project also offers educational programmes and in-person psychological support in four Austrian regions.
Meanwhile, a different project also supported by the EAFRD in the Alpine country turns the relationship between farms and mental health around: a family farm in Lower Austria, the Antlashof, simultaneously functions as a care home for people with chronic mental health problems.
Here, the inclusion in agricultural activities and the close contact with animals and nature are set to boost psychological wellbeing, according to the organisation. (Julia Dahm | EURACTIV.de)
ROMANIA
Rural communities undervalued, suffer instability. In the Romanian public sphere, there is very little public discussion on the mental health and well-being of people in general and much less on specific sectors such as farming.
In Romania, the most frequent problems of farmers’ well-being are linked to the fragmentation of the communities – caused mainly by massive migration, especially of women, as well as economic instability and their undervalued status, according to Raluca Barbu, business partner of Highclere Consulting.
The consultancy has been implementing in Romania the project FarmWell, a European Thematic Network project funded by Horizon 2020, which aims to improve farmers’ mental, physical and social wellbeing through social innovations.
According to the report, depopulation remains one of the major social concerns in rural areas.
“The temporary emigration of young people (leaving for the first time) aged between 20 and 39 years increased by 21,38% in the last four years, while the permanent emigration (already left the country) of young people of the same age category increased by 54% from 2014 to 2018; this data reflects the lack of interest of young people to return to the country,” the FarmWell research concluded.
This depopulation causes significant emotional distress for the remaining people in rural areas, with a high impact on children and teenagers.
However, the research found that in the communities where women are more appreciated, the mood apparently changes and the young people seem more motivated to stay there and even start small businesses. (Manuela Preoteasa | EURACTIV.ro)
GREECE
No mental health care for Greek farmers. The Greek rural population often consists of large families, something that can aggravate mental health problems, especially in older family members, due to financial pressures. The rural community, however, does not receive special attention in terms of its mental health in Greece.
The website of the Greek Ministry of Health features only general advice and actions for mental health addressed to the general population – such as the psychosocial support line launched during the pandemic – but nowhere there is a special mention for the rural population.
In addition, the Hellenic Centre for Mental Health and Research told EURACTIV Greece that the rural sector’s mental health has never been the subject of any research, meaning there is no data on this social group’s mental health.
Finally, due to the fact that farmers live in remote areas or far from cities, they do not have easy access to mental health centres or psychologists. The only medical assistance provided by the state is the so-called ‘rural doctor’, with a limited role and nothing to do with the mental support for farmers. (Marianthi Pelekanaki | EURACTIV.gr)
BULGARIA
No targeted care for farmers’ mental health. There is no targeted care for the mental health of farmers and agricultural workers in Bulgaria, nor has anyone in the country conducted targeted research in this area, the director of the largest psychiatric hospital in the country, Tsveteslava Galabova, told EURACTIV.
However, the poorest country in the EU has had problems with the treatment of mental illnesses for years.
The last report of the Bulgarian authorities in 2021 showed that around 15% of people in the country face lifelong psychiatric illnesses during their lifetime. According to Galabova, the only targeted research was on professional burnout, though it was not specifically associated with farmers, but with other engaging professions such as police, firefighters and medical workers.
Meanwhile, there is no functioning system for monitoring and preventing mental health in Bulgaria.
The attitudes of society towards the mentally ill are also a serious problem – they continue to be stigmatising and often discriminatory, which is a problem in terms of their treatment.
The long-time chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Agriculture, Svetla Vasileva, who is now an advisor in the organisation, pointed out that the stress among farmers is very high. Some of them cannot bear the strain of the profession and choose to give up farming.
According to Vasileva, the Bulgarian state does not provide adequate support for agricultural workers, nor does it provide good working conditions in the country. This further adds to the stress of the ever-increasing number of natural disasters, she commented. (Krasen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]