Mental Health: Farming and Agricultural Communities

Ellie Chowns Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Aphra Brandreth]

I appreciate the hon. Member’s comments, and I am sorry to hear about the tragic instances in his constituency. We very much need to be collaborative to improve things for the farming community.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

I thank the hon. Lady for securing the debate. Will she join me in paying tribute to farmer-initiated and farmer-led organisations, such as We are Farming Minds in my constituency? They do such important work to support their colleagues in the farming sector and to tackle mental health challenges head-on.

[Aphra Brandreth]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for mentioning those excellent organisations; I will note others later in my speech.

For all those reasons, this debate and the actions and commitments from the Minister are important. Women are an often overlooked group when we talk about rural mental health, particularly young women. There are inspiring examples of women who run farms and contribute a great deal to the agricultural sector. Of course, women are almost always involved in a farming operation, even if they are not always hands-on in the yard or fields.