Hearing from farmers outside the mainstream
A nationwide search starts soon for farmers outside of the mainstream who are trying to balance sustainability and climate change.
Next month, a research team comprising members from the universities of Guelph, Waterloo and Alberta will start reaching out to investigate the experiences, thoughts and feelings about climate change among farmers in what the researchers call “equity-deserving groups” in Canada.
Specifically, that means farmers from Black, LGBTQ+, and Mennonite or Amish communities.
Certainly, climate change is affecting all farmers, in Canada and elsewhere.
But is it having a different effect on producers considered to be in inequitable positions?
Are they more at risk mentally to swings in climate changes?
Have they adopted creative or transferable techniques to help promote sustainability?
Do they think they need different assistance than mainstream farmers?
That’s what the research is designed to reveal.
“Adaptability and sustainability are the glue that unites these communities,” says University of Guelph Prof. Andria Jones, a pioneer in farmers’ mental health research and case study leader of this project. “Approaches to dealing with climate change by equity-deserving groups might serve as lessons to other farmers and help them adapt to difficult situations. We know from research with other groups that the more diverse a study group is, the better the solutions.”
The federally sponsored study is the first of its kind in North America. It’s affiliated with sustainability and mental health research in the U.K. and West Africa likewise aimed at non-mainstream populations.
“We want the study findings to contribute to policy and programming related to equity-deserving groups and mitigating climate change impact generally in agriculture,” says Jones. “By participating, we hope the farmers feel a sense of satisfaction in being ‘heard’ and in helping raise awareness about the impacts of climate change.”
Another aim of the study is to help increase inclusivity in farming. “Canadian agriculture will bemostadaptableandsustainablewhen it is truly inclusive of the diversity of farmers,” says Jones.
The study results, expected in 18-24 months, will shed a better-rounded light on all farmers’ mental health, which Jones and her colleagues have found to be appreciably more compromised compared to the general public’s mental health. Stress, anxiety scores, and suicide ideation are higher in farmers than in non-farmers in Canada.
For this study, researchers will hold 60-90-minute face-to-face interviews with farmers in the target groups. They’re aiming to interview 30 members from each group. Two graduate students will join the team this fall.
The farmers will be asked to discuss their perceptions about climate change, the emotions they feel dealing with it, and its impact on their mental health and wellbeing. The researchers want to know how they are coping and their recommendations for supporting mental health, wellbeing and resilience to climate change in Canadian agriculture.
This research extends studies on the mental health impacts of extreme weather being conducted with mainstream Ontario farmers by Jones and Ph.D. candidate Shelly Thompson.
For more information see https:// ajresearch.ca/climate-mental-health-and- equity-deserving-populations.
