Polish Farmers Commit Suicide as Fruit Crop Freezes
When Nature Freezes our Self-Esteem
Approximately 90% of Poland's fruit crop has allegedly been destroyed by late season frosts which has tragically led some Polish farmers to commit suicide. Due to temperatures falling to as low as -7 degrees centigrade earlier last week, Polish orchardists reported that Vegetables and Fruit journals
"about the damage caused to sweet cherry, strawberry, pear and plum, and apple orchards as well."
The Withered Buds of May
According to one AgriNews journal
"it has been already clear that apple harvest is likely to be significantly lower in season 2007 than a year ago in Poland even if the losses evaluation is dramatically overestimated."
Fruits growing on higher ground survived the surprisingly chilly weather.
Oak and nut trees that were budding out were also affected with the new leaves being killed by the frost.
Anyone who has marvelled at the sight of Poland's Mazovia region and their darling apple trees at this time of the year should also realise the loss could very well affect the prices of fruit in Western Europe as Poland is a major exporter of fruits. The knock on consequences of a European economy that is so reliant on the agri-produce of other countries rather than being self-reliant and satisfied with their own types of plums, pears and apples, etc.
More details on the losses to Polish farmers can be read about here:
Fresh Plaza
Avoidable Tragedies
But the reported deaths of farmers as a result of their crop being destroyed is the true tragedy here. The obvious finacial dependency some farmers have in the well-being of their crops should never have to force them into a situation whereby they feel no other escape apart from the end of a noose or the barrel of a gun. A clear compensatory scheme from agricultural associations and the state should be immediately devised so as to ensure small farmers wholly dependant on the land for their and their family's welfare do not have to face economic turmoil and consequent personal problems alone.
Hopefully this would go some way to limiting nature's harsh frost to killingthe flowers on buds fo fruit trees rather than creating a downward spiral of grief that ends up in flowers being placed on a farmer's gravestone.
Comments
What you are saying is a fair point i am just not sure if this person could have got help or not. Maybe there was help, but he was too proud to ask for it or some other reason.
Sucicide does how ever seem to be prevealent in Poland as unrelated to crop-faliure i know of at least three cases of it in the space of a year within my small Gmina (population of only about 5,000). It goes hand in hand with alcholoism and long term depression.
For sure such suicides may just have been the tipping point of deeper psychological problems. In my home area of the Irish midlands there continues to be a high level of suicide amongst males, usually 25-40 years old, tragically many who have families.
On further checking I notice a document on unemployment benefits in Poland from the OECD that persons applying for unemployment insurance "may not be owners of an agricultural estate, with arable land exceeding the area of 2 hectares for purposes of calculation."
According to the OECD suicide rates in Poland in 2000 were 13.6 per 100,000 persons, compared to, for example, the U.K. which has a rate of 6.3 or Ireland's rate of 11.1. Unfortunately I can't find info. on the they career backgrounds/classes of those who commit suicide here.
The OECD seem to say then that farmers who have poor harvests, don't get automatic benefits. Yet a factory worker who losses his job does, strange!
crop damage in Polish orchards from frost at the turn of April-May will amount to some PLN 800 mln, deputy farming minister Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski said.
"I encourage moderation in estimating losses," Ardanowski said at parliamentary farming commission sitting.
Ardanowski stressed that discrepancy is estimating the losses are large. According to orchard owners, they will hit PLN 5-6 bln.