A recent study revealed that between 2007 and 2009 French farmers committed suicide at a rate of almost 1 every 2 days.
A recent study revealed that between 2007 and 2009 French farmers committed suicide at a rate of almost 1 every 2 days.
The figure is 20 percent above the nation’s average, which is already double that of some other European countries.
Cattle farmers aged 55-64 were found to have the highest instances of self-inflicted deaths, with suicide rates 47 percent about the country’s norm.
It’s been determined that the likely causes are a combination of financial stress and isolation.
Beginning in 2008, cattle farmers suffered greatly from a combination of pricing pressures for milk and meat while operating costs continued to increase.
Even before learning about the study’s results, France’s president pledged his support in turning the situation around for livestock farmers.
He said he will make sure the upcoming renegotiations of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy result in a plan that is beneficial for them.
The president also said, "To leave breeders in the situation they are in, with lower incomes than the rest of the profession, but with higher risks and tighter constraints, would be to weaken French agriculture as a whole."
