Press release: Local farmers struggle with depression in Hawaii

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE by CTAHR Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Local farmers struggle with depression in Hawaii

Unprecedented survey uncovers major stressors affecting Hawaii agricultural producers, guides strategy for both industry and consumers to help ‘Malama the Farmer’

HONOLULU (December 28, 2022) –Hawaiian farmers 45 years old or younger are going into 2023 facing unprecedented mental stress.  A recent study found that 48% have experienced depression, and 14% struggled with suicidal thoughts.  This is almost two times higher than Hawaii’s general population, and 17% higher than CDC’s 2021 report on public health workers.

These dramatic findings are the results from groundbreaking research undertaken by researchers at the University of Hawaii Manoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR).  The university conducted the study as part of a broader federal mandate and funding focusing on farmers mental health.

“This study validated a lot of what we’ve already observed in the field, but also bore a bumper crop of details and gems that will really help us serve our local ag workers,” said Thao Le, principal investigator of the study and director of the “Seeds of Wellbeing” (SOW) project. “One of the biggest surprise was that who reported using professional help to cope faired worst which is contrary to what we expected.”

CTAHR researchers currently have several programs underway to address farmers’needs, including a program to focus on the relational components of health and wellbeing. The Ag Mental Health Mentors program aims to educate and provide concrete tools to peers, family members, and neighbors to provide care and support, and to feel confident in initiating “talk story” about mental health.

“Even though the younger generation are more willing to talk about mental health issues,  we also did not expect that 44 ag producers would sign up to be ag mentors within a span of less than a month,”she added.

The good news? More people than ever recognize the importance of farming. A survey on public perception with 400 local residents found that 83% see agriculture as important to the state, with 56% saying they were willing to spend more on local produce. Yet, 85-90% of food in Hawaii remains imported, and less than 1% of the state budget is for agriculture.

This is challenging for those in the agricultural industry and even more so for certain demographics and sectors in Hawaii such as being younger, of East Asian or Southeast Asian ancestry, or working in the livestock or seed industry. While general uncertainty and COVID topped the list of stressors, farm production, financial worries, pests/invasive species also ranked highly.

“If we want to make sure we have a next generation of farmers and ranchers in Hawaii, we need to be paying close attention to their mental and emotional health,” Le expressed.

Hawaii is part of the Western Region Agricultural Stress Assistance Program (WRASAP), funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) provided funding that allow the project to eclipsed all other western states with 408 ag producers responding to the survey. (California only had 231 Californian farmers responding.) The results yielded some similar but also unexpected differences compared to the mainland.

The research team currently has several publications under peer review expected to be published in early 2023. The extension team, meanwhile, continues to offer workshops to address the identified stressors from the survey.

SOW has also produced a series of video and audio podcasts, with more than 1400 downloads, mental health prevention guides specific to farmers called Cool Mind Main Thing, and a brief media campaign to increase the public’s respect and appreciation for farmers and ranchers – Malama the Farmer.

The SOW project is funded by USDA and HDOA and in partnership with other organizations such as Hawaii Farmers Union United, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Pacific Gateway Center, GoFarm, and Oahu Resource Conservation &Development Council.

Although this one-year grant-funded initiative ends in March, the SOW team remains steadfast and committed to continue the momentum and work.

Video (farmer interviews): https://bit.ly/sowfarmers

About Seeds of Wellbeing

 

The mission of the Seeds of Wellbeing project is to understand and advocate for the health and wellbeing of farmers, ranchers, and allied agricultural producers in Hawaii, and provide tools and skills for skillful stress management. SOW is an initiative of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii Manoa, supported by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The SOW team has surveyed the state of mental health in Hawaii’s farming and ranching community, conducting hours of interviews, and collecting hundreds of survey responses. The formal findings are pending publication in 2023. For more information, visit https://manoa.hawaii.edu/sow-well/.