Every two days, one French farmer commits suicide – Survey

**wvwvw** · 10-18-2018, 02:51 PM

Every two days, one French farmer commits suicide – Survey
By RONOC R. 18 October 2018

According to a survey conducted by the French national public health agency, one French farmer commits suicide every two days. This number far exceeds the average suicide rate, newspaper Ouest France reports.

The EU Farmers Union has come out and said that this needs immediate attention; that our farmers deserve better than this.

In the 2010-2011 period, the Santé Publique France survey emphasised that the mortality rate of French farmers committing suicide is 20% higher than that of the general population. One farmer commits suicide every two days. This is especially rampant among men ages 45-54.

In reference to a 2017 analysis Nicolas Deffontaines from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) states that farmers with small farms are much more likely to commit suicide than farmers with large farms.

This could be correlated with the fact that small farms are going out of business at an alarming rate and being taken over by large factory like farms.

Ouest-France has reported that the average agricultural incomes in France are the lowest in the country. With 30% making 350 euros a month.

Farmers incomes across Europe have been significantly pinched for a number of reasons. From price volatility to increased overhead costs and extreme weather phenomena.

There is a strong insistence that more support should be granted to farmers across the EU and above all, identify those who face loneliness, emotional breakdowns, or diseases and try to help them before it’s too late.

The stricter rules on environmental protections, most of which are seen as very overbearing and unnecessary, are hurting farmers even more.

Farmers feel they’re being asked to do more, while getting nothing in return. In fact the European Commission has proposed cutting funding to Common Agricultural Policy by 5% post 2020.