Mental health in the agricultural industry was the focus of a speech given by local Assembly Member Paul Davies in the Assembly Chamber recently. Mr Davies spoke during a Welsh Conservatives debate on mental health at the Senedd and highlighted some of the successful initiatives across the world that could be adopted in Wales.

Mr Davies said: “It’s really important to address mental health in the agricultural industry as farming can be a particularly stressful occupation with many stress factors that are taken out of farmers’ hands – such as price volatility in the markets, or the emotional impact of bovine tb on their livestock for example. Therefore, we must ensure that service provision and support are available to our farmers on their doorstep.”

He added, “The debate was also a good opportunity to highlight the fantastic work of the DPJ Foundation in Pembrokeshire that is supporting men in rural communities and helping to break the stigma attached to mental health. It’s also important that we look at global schemes and see how we can apply some of their good practice here in Wales. Therefore, I urge the Welsh Government to make sure that our health boards learn from successful schemes around the world and develop mental health policies that are applicable to those who work and live in rural communities.”

You can access Paul’s speech (from paragraph 452) here - http://record.assembly.wales/Plenary/4907