2024-02-27 16:53:19
The difficulties that accompany agricultural life are no stranger to Jürgen Donhauser. His son’s farm, located an hour east of Nuremberg, Germany, has been in the family for generations. But when he took on a pastorate at the church a few years ago, local farmers started talking to him about the stress and financial problems they faced in their work.
Their stories shocked him. Some of these farmers needed alcohol to sleep to stop thinking about the possibility of losing everything. “And then there are other stories like ‘If it’s all over, I’ll hang myself on the next tree,’” Donhauser says.
Being the person who gives up or is forced to sell a farm that has been in the family for 10 or even 15 generations is a huge burden for Donhauser. The pressure these farmers face is “excruciating,” he says.
Suicidal thoughts
Recently, the anger of protesting farmers in Europe has been a headline item in the press, especially after images of convoys of tractors honking, then piles of burning tires outside the European Parliament, which were set on fire by protesters in rejection of European policies in the agricultural field.
But there is another side to this news. New studies indicate that many of the pressures that push farmers to the streets, such as climate policies, laws, rising costs, and declining profits, are also harmful to their psychological health.
A survey of more than 250 Irish farmers found that 20% had had thoughts of suicide in the previous two weeks, and nearly 40% reported experiencing moderate to significant psychological distress.
In northern Belgium, nearly half of the 600 farmers surveyed reported that their work causes them psychological stress. In Germany and Austria, more than a quarter of participants reported suffering from burnout, which in Germany is twice the rate of burnout in general life.
Legislation surrounding them
While the causes of psychological problems are complex, researchers say they have identified one major pressure on these farmers: climate policies.
About 10% of the EU’s greenhouse gases come from the agricultural sector, largely caused by livestock and fertilizers used on the land, which release methane and nitrous oxide, two powerful gases that contribute to global warming. Pesticides used by farmers to maintain crop stability have also been criticized for their negative role in biodiversity loss.
Recently, the anger of protesting farmers in Europe has been the subject of headlines in the press, especially after pictures of tractor convoys. Photo: Sergei Gapon/AFP
But some farmers say climate policies aimed at reducing these emissions are being implemented in a way that puts them in extremely difficult situations. Among them is Sebastian Lohmer, who runs an organic farm south of Bonn, Germany. He says that European regulations to reduce the use of fertilizers by 20% cause him psychological pressure.
Nitrogen-based fertilizers cause about 5% of global greenhouse gases and pollute groundwater as well. But Lohmer says that preventing farmers from using them during the winter months presents major logistical challenges to operating a farm, because the ban shortens the time period available for fertilization, more than changes in weather patterns do.
Lohmer stresses that he is not against climate policy. In fact, farmers like him are on the front lines of climate change, as drought and the increasing unpredictability of climate seasons are now a reality.
On top of this, he says he faces pressure due to rising costs and strict building codes, which makes making a profit very difficult. Lohmer talks about his grandfather who could buy a tractor with one good harvest, but today even ten is not enough.
“Scapegoat”
Many farmers say the plan to remove subsidies on diesel in agriculture – which prompted thousands of them to protest in Germany and France – was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Donhauser says that after World War II, his father’s generation of farmers were told to “make every effort so that we never go hungry again.” But now he believes their role as guardians of the land and food providers is no longer respected.
On the other hand, farmers report that they struggle with negative media portrayals of their economic activity. “We are constantly exposed to criticism and it is exhausting,” Donhausers says. “Who wants to be called an insect killer, a well poisoner, an animal torturer? Of course, this affects anyone.” “.
“They feel they have been made a scapegoat in terms of being a headline, as if they are causing the climate crisis beyond their role,” Louise McHugh, a professor of psychology at the University of Dublin and co-lead of a mental health study on Irish farmers, told DW. Image from: Andrea Bernardi/AFP/Getty Images
“They feel they have been made a scapegoat in terms of being a headline, as if they are causing the climate crisis beyond their role,” Louise McHugh, a professor of psychology at the University of Dublin and co-lead of a mental health study on Irish farmers, told DW.
Finding solutions and providing support
McHugh says the farmers she spoke to as part of her study were eager to engage in innovative practices and policies that address climate change, but felt that these policies needed to include their voices and, most importantly, be workable on the ground.
She continues: “We need to look at mental health and all the changes that we will all have to face in the coming years.” Researchers have already begun trying to change the situation, by providing lessons on mental health to students studying agricultural sciences in some universities and institutes.
It must also be ensured that farmers have more information and opportunities for livestock, according to Franziska Omer, who is training to become a dairy farmer in Bavaria, Germany. Omer is one of three young founders of Aker Schwästern (Sisters of the Field), a campaign she started a while ago to counter “the influence of far-right politicians who try to exploit the desperation of farmers.”
She confirms that the journey was difficult, as each of these young women knew a farmer who committed suicide. “In my case, it was a young man, he was 25 years old,” Omer says. “He was full of life. He fought for his farm for years.” She confirms that this farmer, who was Dutch, lost his farm like many farmers in the Netherlands in the wake of tightening regulations on nitrogen emissions.
But despite the tragic stories she has experienced and the challenges facing the sector, Omer says that giving up is not an option for her: “I hope that politicians and society will appreciate what we are doing and support us so that our profession has a future, and so that people are not caused pain.”
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Note from the editor:
Suicide is not a solution to any problem. If you are suffering from life pressures and are struggling to face life’s hardships and find it difficult to bear it, you should talk to a person specialized in psychological support or the civil society organizations and associations in your country without hesitation or delay..
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