“For the sweat they put into
farming, farmers get very little rewards.”
Amidst the pandemic, there is one
group of unsung essential workers - the farmers. They put food on our tables
and keep us moving. Living in rural England, I regularly witness how much they
contribute to our existence. Whilst, the country has almost come to a
standstill, I observe life going on as normal in the fields.
During my daily walk as part of
my exercise, I see farm machinery
ploughing the fields, yet others sowing, and am hopeful of also seeing the mighty combine harvesters bringing
in the crop in the future- a sign that everything will be all right. I see hedgerows that form
beautiful chequered patterns on the fields, and verges on the sides of the
fields faithfully managed, so that wildlife can thrive. In my walks,
I often see pheasants, quails, hares, and rabbits. The scene could be almost from a Constable painting, only with modern implements, set to the tune of
Gerald Finzi’s ‘Eclogue’.
Life can be often tough for the
farmers. In the last two decades, diseases like BSE, foot and mouth disease, and
bovine TB have wreaked great havoc on UK farmers. Farmers are also frequently
victims to adverse weather situations like floods and dry summers. To top it
all, is the lack of profit in farming. For the sweat they put into farming, farmers
get very little rewards. An independent study showed that farmers make more
from subsidies than from profit.Whilst, they may appear to be a steely bunch,
several studies show that farmers worldwide are at severe risk for mental
health disorders.
Farmers not only provide the food we eat, they also manage
wildlife habitats. Farmlands constitute the majority of our countryside. They are stewards of what makes our country ‘green and
pleasant’. We really need to support them during and post-pandemic.
References:
1. https://fullfact.org/economy/farming-subsidies-uk/
2. Research trends in farmers' mental health: A scoping review
of mental health outcomes and interventions among farming populations
worldwide. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0225661
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