Country: Hungary
Wellbeing of Farmers: Mental Wellbeing, Social Wellbeing
Key Challenges: Lack of basic services, Low farm income (market vulnerability), Legal employment/ fair working conditions, Pressure from society/negative perceptions
Key Target Groups: Young farmers, underprivileged persons
Farm Size: Small/Family
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Key contact: László Jakubinyi
Email: jakubinyi@szimbiozis.net
Organization: Symbiosis Foundation - Baráthegy Manor jointly with other social farms in Hungary
Relevant Links:
Summary
“In Hungary and in the other European countries the social farming activities are based on the long-known fact that agricultural activities have a therapeutical effect on an underprivileged, vulnerable group. Social farmers join the initiative in two ways: as an entrepreneur committed to social responsibility or as a parent with disabled / underprivileged child.
The social farms are cooperative economic forms based on social and solidary principles for social and environmental attitude shaping, where agricultural productive, processive and service activity is done with the integration of underprivileged persons (in Hungarian context it means persons with reduced capacity to work). Furthermore, social farms carry out complementary, attitude shaping activity (related to agriculture) as well for the wider part of the society.”
Objective
Improve the mental wellbeing of the farmer (social responsibility as an inner need, engaged farmworkers, family-like linkages with the employees).
Improve the social wellbeing of the farmer (increase of the social capital, new linkages with the underprivileged farmworkers’ familymembers, new linkages with the socially responsible customers, new linkages with other farmers on the market).
Activities
- gardening
- animal husbandry
- food processing
- food delivery
- participation on sales, local markets
Main Outcome of the activity
- Mental wellbeing: the social farmer as a social entrepreneur has an inner expectation of social responsibility and these activities serve their mental health.
- Social wellbeing: the social farmer has a prestige in the community because of their commitment and the farmer get feedback from the community in form of recognition, donations, customers who appreciate the socially added value of the product.
Main Practical Recommendations
Social farmers clearly articulated their hope to transfer their knowledge to others as they see the need of this cooperative agricultural forms for the vulnerable, underprivileged groups.
Key Stakeholders Involved
- social farmers – ‘traditional’ farmers (knowledge transfer)
- farmworkers (from an underprivileged, vulnerable group, mainly with reduced capacity to work)
- farmworkers’ familymembers (real support after the school to reach an independent life)
wider society (products with socially added value, social responsibility)
wider society (products with socially added value, social responsibility)