AgriMental

Human Sustainability and Psychological Wellbeing in Agriculture

VET resources and practical tools to support mental wellbeing in farming

Agriculture is exposed to a unique mix of pressures that can strongly affect mental wellbeing: economic uncertainty, climate and weather shocks, seasonal workload peaks, isolation, administrative burdens and succession challenges. These factors influence not only individual health, but also farm continuity, productivity and the vitality of rural areas. Despite its importance, psychological wellbeing is often treated as peripheral in skills development, where technical competencies dominate curricula and support tools for trainers are limited.
VET providers and adult educators need structured, agriculture-specific methods to address prevention, early signs of distress and practical support pathways. Learners entering the sector also need competencies that strengthen resilience and encourage supportive peer and community practices. AgriMental fills this gap by providing a coherent package—manual, MOOC, checklist and a motivation campaign—so wellbeing becomes an integrated part of vocational competence and “human sustainability” in agriculture.

Objectives

• Strengthen VET trainers’ coaching competence related to psychological wellbeing in agriculture (GO1).
• Increase VET learners’ capacity to implement actions that support mental wellbeing and human sustainability (GO2).
• Offer a usable standard/tool set for authorities and organisations to promote psychological wellbeing in agriculture (GO3).

Targets

VET trainers and coaches, VET learners, farmers and rural stakeholders; broader uptake by agricultural VET centres and adult education providers.

Results

• One Coaching Manual for VET trainers focused on psychological wellbeing in agriculture.
• One MOOC on Psychological Wellbeing in Agriculture.
• One Operational Checklist for practical use in training and field contexts.
• One motivation and promotion campaign to encourage wellbeing-oriented practices.