The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) has launched the largest ever research project relating to the wellbeing of farming people. The Big Farming Survey aims to identify how increasingly complex challenges within the sector are impacting people’s physical and mental health.
It aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the farming community throughout England and Wales and identify the specific challenges that a generation of farming people face, as well as highlight how these impact daily life.
RABI has supported the farming sector for 160 years and has set an ambitious target of gathering 26,000 survey responses in the weeks up to 31 March 2021.
Chief executive Alicia Chivers urged everyone in the industry to support the project: “To serve our community effectively, we require a greater understanding of how the challenges and uncertainties facing farming people are affecting daily life., We believe this important piece of research will deliver greater insight into the issues that impact daily life and inform our understanding,” explains Alicia.
“It only takes 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire and everyone who participates will be making an important contribution towards building a comprehensive picture of life in agriculture today. The research will enable RABI and our partners to develop more effective tools and services to enhance farmer wellbeing now and into the future.”
The survey is being conducted by the Centre for Rural Research at the University of Exeter and is open to all farmers, farmworkers, contractors, their spouses and adult-aged children until 31 March 2021.
It is available online via the RABI website and hard copies are available from FarmSurvey@exeter.ac.uk