Conference looks at tackling ‘Rural Stress’ in farming

Farming delegates from England, Scotland and Ireland turned out on Wednesday, March 20, to attend a conference to examine ways of tackling rural stress.

The Rural Stress conference in Maghera organised by local charity, the Armagh and Dungannon Health Action Zone, was held to identify, understand and address the issues of health related stress in the rural community.

Farmers from across the UK suffered major hardship last year following the onslaught of foot and mouth disease. In Northern Ireland there were four outbreaks of the disease in counties Antrim, Armagh and Tyrone in March and April.

A year on from the outbreak of foot-and-mouth, key health and agriculture professionals are seeking ways to support and find answers for farmers struggling with debt, isolation or health problems.

The conference, which is the first of its kind to be organised in the province was funded in part by Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health.

Eleanor Gill, manager of the Health Action Zone said they wanted to raise awareness about the health issues facing farmers in an open and positive way and to provide an open forum to establish what action can be taken.

Dr Walter Boyd, a rural GP and farmer from Clogher who addressed the conference said: “The worrying fact is that despite the undoubted need for support people are not seeking help. Screening for disease and signs of poor health and wellbeing can lead to a reduction in illness. The challenge for all professionals is to find ways of encouraging local people to safeguard their health and prevent major problems occurring. If the patients aren’t coming to our centres then we need to take our services to them.”

The BBC’s agricultural correspondent Richard Wright chaired the first half of the conference with the Ulster Farmer’s Union deputy president John Gilliland chairing the latter section.

Douglas Rowe, President of the Ulster Farmers’ Union, said he was pleased to see the issue of stress and its impact on health discussed.

“We would appeal to people not to suffer in silence or try to cope on their own but to make use of the services available,” he said.

The Minister for Agriculture Bríd Rodgers who attended the event said: “I am very conscious of the increased levels of stress in the rural community especially due to the financial pressures in farming over recent years and last year’s outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

“This conference is about recognising these problems and more importantly working together to find ways to address them,” she said.

(AMcE)