The final evaluation report for the innovative farmer health and wellbeing initiative ‘On Feirm Ground 1’ has been published and is hailed as a significant milestone in the expanded programme’s aims to equip frontline agricultural professionals and service providers with the awareness, capacity and confidence to identify at-risk farmers and signpost them to relevant support services.
The On Feirm Ground programme was developed by the Engage National Men’s Health Training Programme and is overseen by a multi-stakeholder advisory group chaired by project managers, Men’s Development Network (MDN).
The collaboration is co-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE). The initial research behind the programme was funded by South East Technological University and the Teagasc Walsh Scholarship Programme.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Farm Safety, Martin Heydon T.D. and Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke T.D., launched the final evaluation of the report. Minister Heydon welcomed the publication of the report saying, “Farmers in Ireland experience a range of work-related challenges that place them at increased risk of poor physical and mental health and can be hard to reach and engage on health issues. ‘On Feirm Ground’ has demonstrated that giving farm advisors and others who work with farmers the skills to spot the signs of poor wellbeing can help bridge that gap.” He added, “the report demonstrates the effectiveness of extending support roles to other frontline agricultural professionals and service providers, as is now happening across Ireland through the scaled-up ‘On Feirm Ground 2’, which has significantly increased the number of participants taking part in the training.”
The On Feirm Ground programme has been operating for several years already with he first phase of the implementation of the programme taking place from October 2021 to April 2022. It focussed on training farm advisors, many of whom formed the evaluation’s research cohort.
The final report provides a comprehensive overview of the initiative’s objectives, the challenges and lessons learned during the initial rollout, and the recommendations that informed the design and development of the follow-up programme ‘On Feirm Ground 2’.
It also highlights key insights and success stories and assesses the programme’s overall impact. Crucially, agricultural advisors, both Teagasc and private agricultural consultants, have since adopted health and wellbeing support and signposting as part of their routine work.
Minister Burke said at the launch, “this ongoing and innovative programme is a good example of ‘Healthy Ireland’ in action and shows that educating ‘trusted companions’ in how to respond is an effective means to reach and engage farmers on health issues and achieve positive outcomes.”
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