Happy at work, local farmers?

Of the 613 farmers who responded to the survey for this study, 49% were women (Photo: depositphotos) - Study shows that the more producers sell directly to consumers, the more they enjoy their work and the more economically satisfied they are A major Leger survey has already revealed that dentists and hairdressers are among the happiest workers in Quebec. What about farmers? Sometimes they are really happy, for example in terms of recognition in society, sometimes it is very difficult in terms of remuneration. We wanted to measure the job satisfaction of producers in short circuits, those who sell directly to consumers, such as family farmers, or those who use an intermediary such as a restaurant," explains Stevens Azima. D. student in agro-economics is the lead author of a study published in the journal Agriculture and Human Values , co-authored with Patrick Mundler, a professor in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. They conducted an online survey of 613 farmers across Canada. This is groundbreaking work, as very few studies have been done at this scale, which is a country rather than a community," says Azima. Of all the respondents, 38% were from Quebec, 85% had a post-secondary education, the vast majority had started their own business, 35% operated an organic farm and 51% were involved in agri-tourism," said the doctoral student.