Exploring the Drivers of Irrigator Mental Health in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia

Abstract

There has been little work conducted on how landholders’ farm management approaches and financial capital (specifically (i) farm method such as organic farming and (ii) financial profitability) may impact mental health. In particular, there is emerging evidence that an increase in natural farm capital and environmental conditions may improve farmers’ wellbeing. We used a 2015–2016 survey, which randomly sampled 1000 irrigators from the southern Murray–Darling Basin, to model the drivers of irrigators’ psychological distress. Results highlight that worsening financial capital (namely, lower farmland value, higher farm debt, lower percentage of off-farm income, lower productivity change over the past five years, and lower net farm income) was the most statistically significant factor associated with increased irrigator distress. In addition, there was some evidence that being a certified organic irrigator was also associated with lower psychological distress; however, it was only weakly significant in our overall model, with the most significance within the horticultural industry model. Contrary to expectations, drought and water scarcity were not the main drivers of psychological distress in the time-period studied, with their influence seemingly through reducing financial capital as a whole.

Key Risk Factors Affecting Farmers’ Mental Health: A Systematic Review

“…Similar self-reported questionnaire survey by Khan et al [184] on 200 conventional and 157 organic farmers in Indiana, USA, found conventional farmers demonstrated a significantly higher frequency of neurological symptoms and depression problems. Similar results were found in Australian irrigation [182]. However, Brigance et al [185] indicated that some of the risk factors that affect the mental health of organic farmers—e.g., economic insecurity, long hours of work, social isolation, and unpredictable weather conditions—are the same as the mental risk factors for conventional farmers.…”

“…The association with farm type (system used—such as organic farming and industry type) was also a considerable focus in the literature [182]. A study on comparing the self-reported psychological health of workers on organic and conventional horticultural farms by Cross et al [183] showed no significant difference.…”

“…Longitudinal research might overcome these limitations, by illustrating over the longer time, how mental distress, depression, and anxiety are connected with environmental, social and economic pressures. Also, there is a need to study the association between natural capital factors (e.g., type of farming—regenerative, organic, impact of the environment) and mental distress over the long-term, given emerging research in this space [182].…”

The Contribution of Environmental Science to Mental Health Research: A Scoping Review

“…Direct measurements of environmental variables were the most common method for environmental measurement and were found in drought, noise, and pollutant studies: In drought studies, rainfall data were collected alone [ 66 , 67 ] or in combination with: drought period [ 68 ], soil moisture [ 68 ], or water allocations [ 68 ]. These data could also be combined to create Hutchinson’s Drought Index [ 65 , 108 , 109 ]. Noise monitoring was carried out using static noise monitors at the neighbourhood scale [ 69 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 78 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 ], recording peak and off-peak noise at varied locations to map noise across the study sites.…”

“…In drought studies, rainfall data were collected alone [ 66 , 67 ] or in combination with: drought period [ 68 ], soil moisture [ 68 ], or water allocations [ 68 ]. These data could also be combined to create Hutchinson’s Drought Index [ 65 , 108 , 109 ].…”