Of farming and stress: Exploring the association between postharvest food loss and suicidal ideation among smallholder farmers

A growing body of literature has documented the links between extreme ecological shocks and poor mental well-being. Nonetheless, postharvest loss remains an underexplored shock to farmers that has the potential to trigger suicidal ideation. The need to examine the connection between postharvest loss and suicidal ideation in Africa is reinforced by rising farmer suicides and food loss in the region. Applying logistic regression to a cross-sectional survey with smallholder farmers (n = 1033) in Ghana, our findings show a unit increase in postharvest loss is associated with 0.3% higher odds of experiencing suicidal ideation (OR: 1.003, p < 0.001). Consistent with this finding, smallholder farmers who rated their ability to manage food loss as poor were 2.25 times more likely (OR: 2.258, p < 0.001) to report suicidal ideation. Our findings also demonstrate the protective role of familial support, access to credit, and joint decision making in reducing the odds of suicidal ideation. This contribution points to the need to broaden agricultural policy to address the material and psychosocial dimensions of postharvest loss. Following a food loss event, counselling is crucial. Yet, in the Global South, where mental health resources are limited, farmer counselling can be mainstreamed into existing primary healthcare systems while the training of gatekeeper farmers can be leveraged to help provide culturally sensitive peer support in hard-to-reach rural areas. The provision of safety nets in the form of food aid, subsidies, credit, and insurance to farmers will further help address food insecurity and other long-term distress produced by postharvest loss.