Supporting farmers' mental health: action-oriented recommendations

Discussions held in the frame of the Thematic Group on Supporting the Mental Health of Farmers and Farming Communities (February - June 2024) led to the definition of key ingredients to support the mental health of farmers and farming communities, which are presented in a separate document. These were further refined and form the basis for the recommendations included in the following pages.  

The recommendations in this document are clustered around five areas of interventions: education and awareness; policy frameworks enabling community-led initiatives; support services and infrastructure in rural areas; research and data; and institutional approach. 

These recommendations can be targeted at different actors – from farmers to institutions, from research bodies to LAGs and rural communities.  In translating these recommendations into real-life initiatives, all the relevant stakeholders should also consider the key ingredients identified by the Thematic Group. 

These recommendations can contribute to improving the mental health and well-being of farmers, their families and communities, who can all access (better) support services. More effective support services for better mental health and well-being can encourage farm succession planning and make farming a more attractive career option for young people – both conducive to generational renewal. Improved well-being is likely to have positive impacts on farm productivity and sustainability, and plays a vital role in strengthening food security.  

All the outputs produced by this Thematic Group are available on the EU CAP Network website.