Minister Brouns wants to increase farmers’ well-being with an action plan | Inland

“The number of registrations is increasing very quickly,” said Els Verthé van Boeren at a Crossroads. “We no longer only see technical problems, but also many psychosocial problems. It is about depression, burnout and not being able to deal with the uncertain future that currently lies ahead.”

Boeren op een Kruispunt has already received an extra 1.4 million euros in budget to recruit more employees. The minister is now also making 50,000 euros available for a new action plan. Seventy organizations from the agricultural sector, civil society and the welfare sector are committed to projects to make mental and social problems a topic for discussion, including through networking events. Career coaching will be provided to make farmers more resilient and agricultural education will commit itself to paying more attention to mental well-being.

But the elephant in the room was the Flemish government’s nitrogen agreement. Hendrik Vandamme of the Algemeen Boerensyndicate and Lode Ceyssens of the Boerenbond pointed out that the current uncertainty has a major impact on the well-being of farmers. “The last thing we want is a flip-flop policy, which creates chaos in the minds of those who have to deal with it,” said Vandamme. “A reduction in the livestock population would simply lead to the loss of 20,000 jobs,” said Ceyssens. “If that happened in a big company, it would dominate the news for months.”

Brouns wants to listen to the sector, but does not touch the agreement. “The public inquiry is underway. Every farmer now has to look at the impact on his business and formulate his comments. After the investigation, we can make adjustments if necessary,” he said. Farmers who can demonstrate that their impact has decreased significantly due to the investments they have made could possibly remain open, the minister said.