Policy Insights - Mental health policy for EU farmers

Issues including occupational safety, health, stress and anxiety, remain serious and common problems for European farmers and farming communities and can affect their mental health. Factors affecting their well-being are becoming more widely understood, documented and discussed at EU level. Mental health among EU farmers can be impacted over time by long working hours combined with other factors such as financial uncertainty, climate challenges and geographical or social isolation. More recently these challenges include the increased public scrutiny on farming professions. Farmers are exposed to higher risks of mental health problems, according to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, which underscores the higher rates of accidents and fatalities in the farming sector compared to other professional sectors. 

However, the actual outreach of mental health care services available on the ground in farming communities remains an evolving process and gaps in adequate mental health support still exist in too many rural areas. This drives initiatives like Safe Habitus and Embrace Farm, that are highlighting ways of providing better care services for the well-being of the agricultural community.  

The recent EU CAP Network Thematic Group (TG) on Supporting the Mental Health of Farmers and Farming Communities capitalised on the extensive experience of its diverse group of members (including farmers, advisors, researchers and policy makers) to identify ‘key ingredients’ for successful mental health support initiatives and conditions for their replicability.  Building on the TG's experience, the article reviews insights and gathers feedback and opinions from relevant stakeholders, offering inspiration for tailor-made approaches that can improve the well-being of farming professionals and communities across the EU.