Studies show that farmers have an increased risk of suicide compared with other occupational groups.

Omissions

• The claim is framed for the European Union, but the strongest quantitative evidence (systematic reviews and meta-analyses) is largely drawn from non-EU settings, particularly the United States and Australia, so the EU-specific evidence base is thinner than the claim implies.
• EU-wide occupational suicide statistics are incomplete: Eurostat does not routinely publish suicide rates broken down by occupation, and the European Parliament Research Service notes that elevated suicide rates among farmers are documented only 'in certain Member States', so no single EU-level figure corroborates the claim.
• The direction of the finding is well established, but magnitudes vary widely across studies and countries, and data quality is described as mixed in some reviews (e.g. UK parliamentary written evidence notes that many studies are more than ten years old).

Sources

• AcademicMilner et al., 'Suicide by occupation: Systematic review and meta-analysis', The British Journal of PsychiatryPrevious research has shown that those employed in certain occupations, such as doctors and farmers, have an elevated risk of suicide, ... (systematic review and meta-analysis of suicide by occupation, finding farmers among the occupations with elevated suicide risk)
• AcademicAlicandro et al., 'Mortality from suicide among agricultural, fishery, forestry and hunting workers', Occupational & Environmental Medicine (BMJ)Excess risk of suicide has been reported among workers in agriculture, fishery, forestry and hunting (AFFH).
• AcademicHumer et al., 'Suicidality Among Austrian Farmers: Prevalence, Risk Factors', Archives of Suicide Research (Taylor & Francis)Farming is consistently identified as a high-risk occupation for suicide across nations, with studies reporting significantly higher suicide [rates among farmers].
• AcademicPurc-Stephenson et al., 'Understanding the factors contributing to farmer suicide: a meta-synthesis', Rural and Remote HealthA previous meta-analysis reported that some occupations are linked to a higher suicide risk. Farmers and agricultural workers – individuals who own, operate, or [work in agriculture] ...
• SecondaryEuropean Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), 'Occupational hazards: The hidden human costs of farming'that, in certain Member States, suicide rates among [farmers are elevated compared with other occupations]