September 2026 | Germany | Mental Health
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Mental Health in the Agricultural Sector: Experiences From Germany
People working in the agricultural sector across Europe are facing growing economic, social and personal pressures. Changing agricultural policies, administrative requirements, volatile markets, critical public scrutiny and increasingly unpredictable weather create considerable uncertainty, place an increasing strain on agricultural businesses and directly affect the mental health of those who work in agriculture.
Farm and family life are often closely intertwined. Long working hours and heavy workloads may coincide with accidents, illness, family conflicts or caring responsibilities. These factors can reinforce one another and contribute to exhaustion, burnout, depression and suicidal thoughts. Studies from Germany, Austria and France indicate that psychological distress and suicidal behaviour are more prevalent in agriculture than among the general population.
Stigma remains a major barrier. Many farmers fear being perceived as weak and therefore seek support only after experiencing considerable distress for a long time. Mental health services must consequently be confidential, easily accessible and tailored to the realities of agricultural life.
Sector-specific support for farmers
Germany’s Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG) plays a particular role in this area. As the country’s statutory, sector-specific social insurance system for the green sector, it combines social protection with a legal mandate for prevention.
Its “With us in Balance” campaign aims to strengthen mental health across the sector through early, accessible and sector-specific support, including a 24-hour crisis hotline, individual telephone coaching, online health training, stress-management programmes and socio-economic counselling.
Statistics from the crisis hotline offer an insight into the range of difficulties. In 2023, family-related problems accounted for 38.7 per cent of calls, followed by mental health issues at 34.7 per cent and stress at 6.8 per cent. By 2025, mental health had become the most frequently reported reason for contacting the service. Emotional overload, depression, grief, family tensions and excessive workloads were recurring concerns.
From commitment to coordinated action
The need for coordinated action was highlighted at a symposium of SVLFG in 2023. Its participants jointly adopted the “Berlin Declaration”, stressing that agricultural transformation must address not only environmental and climate objectives, but also economic viability and the psychosocial situation of farmers, their families and employees. The declaration called for reliable political conditions, clear and achievable requirements, less bureaucracy, connected counselling and coaching services, anti-stigma measures, suicide-prevention research and stronger interdisciplinary networks.
Building on this work, SVLFG held its second symposium “Mental Health in the Green Sector – Experiences. Challenges. Perspectives.” in Berlin on 21 and 22 May 2026. Both symposia were held under the patronage of the respective German Federal Minister responsible for agriculture, underlining the political importance of mental health in the sector. Representatives from the political, academic, advisory and practitioner communities came together to discuss suicide prevention, support networks, generational transition and access to counselling. Moreover, evaluations of individual coaching, socio-economic counselling and coaching for women confirmed that low-threshold, target-group-specific services are effective and in strong demand. However, support services alone cannot address the underlying causes.
Mental health as a shared responsibility
The German experience shows that mental health must be treated as a shared responsibility of policymakers, social insurance institutions, agricultural organisations and farming communities. Protecting farmers’ mental health and wellbeing is essential to the resilience of the sector, sustainable food systems and the future of European agriculture. ●