The LREM deputy of Lot-et-Garonne, Olivier Damaisin, submitted to the government a report on Tuesday containing several proposals to fight against suicides among farmers.
Inspired by an experiment carried out in Saône-et-Loire, it proposes in particular to set up mentoring systems between farmers and entrepreneurs.
The scourge has hit the profession hard for several years.
According to the latest figures from 2015, agricultural social security then counted 372 suicides of farmers in one year, or more than one per day.
In an attempt to prevent these tragedies, the executive commissioned a report from LREM deputy for Lot-et-Garonne Olivier Damaisin, who submitted it to the government on Tuesday.
Among several avenues mentioned in this document, the elected representative advises in particular to develop mentoring systems between farmers and entrepreneurs, drawing inspiration from an experiment carried out in Saône-et-Loire.
What are the other proposals of the report?
The elected representative suggests making the listening platforms better known, and pleads for an annual publication of the suicide death rate and a "detailed analysis of the typology of the farmers concerned and the causes".
It also suggests recruiting and training new "sentries" among people revolving around farmers to identify people in difficulty.
Olivier Damaisin also mentions the creation of a national observatory for farms in difficulty, under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The goal is to break the isolation that farmers experience.
After a wave of suicides in the department in 2016, the Saône-et-Loire chamber of agriculture set up a system of mentoring, exchange, between breeders, wine growers and entrepreneurs, lawyers, etc.
A moment of advice and support, but above all a way of creating a human bond.
"The idea is to bring together two completely different trades, but above all men and women who exchange in full transparency, because there is no judgment. It is an approach that is quite intimate, and which allows us to see how we can make sure to break this loneliness ", explains to Europe 1 Bernard Lacour, president of the chamber of agriculture and himself a cattle breeder.
An initiative welcomed by those concerned
For two years, there have been around fifteen pairs.
Farmers and business leaders meet once a month, always on a voluntary basis and on a voluntary basis.
>>
Find Europe Soir with Julian Bugier in replay and podcast here
And if the precise impact of the device on the number of tragedies is difficult to quantify, on the side of those concerned, farmers and business leaders alike speak of a very positive and complementary approach.