To eradicate child labour we must focus our attention on agriculture

This year is the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour which calls on all of us to raise awareness of the importance to end child labour, share best practices and reflect on impactful actions

We are publishing an article every month on different themes related to child labour. You can read January’s article for the launch of the year, February’s article announced the Year’s song competition, March’s article looked at how the empowerment of women can result in the reduction of child labour and April’s article assessed the impact of child labour on health. This month we are turning our attention to child labour in agriculture

Every child deserves a peaceful and secure childhood and the chance to go to school. This is still being denied to 152 million girls and boys around the world who are engaged in child labour, many of whom are suffering the worst forms of child labour and their consequences.

According to the latest Global Estimates of Child Labour of 2017 the agricultural sector accounts for by far the largest share of child labour, with 71 per cent, or 108 million children. Most child labourers are in Africa, where 20% of all children are affected and where agricultural child labour predominates. Child labour in agriculture is usually found in subsistence and commercial farming and livestock herding. However, the agricultural sector also extends to fishing, forestry, and aquaculture. Most of children’s agricultural work is unpaid and takes place within the family unit.

Not all work in agriculture should be considered child labour.It is important to distinguish between light duties that do no harm to the child and child labour, which is work that interferes with compulsory schooling and damages the health and personal development of children, due to the time spent and conditions of work. Some participation of children in non-hazardous activities can be positive, as it contributes to the inter-generational transfer of skills and food security.

Age-appropriate tasks that are of lower risk and do not interfere with a child’s schooling and leisure time can be a normal part of growing up in a rural environment. Indeed, such activities can lead to improved self-confidence, self-esteem and work skills.

Children working in agriculture tend to be younger (aged 5 to 11 years) and it is a sector particularly prone to dangerous conditions, making it hazardous work. Hazardous work can cause death or serious illness or injury, as a direct consequence of poor safety and health standards.

Children working in agriculture may be exposed to a number of hazardous situations because of their young age, and made to carry heavy loads, be exposed to chemicals and sharp tools that can lead to fatalities and serious health consequences.

Agriculture is one of the three most dangerous sectors in terms of work-related fatalities, non-fatal accidents and occupational diseases. For example, hazardous work in cotton production is among the worst forms of child labour, as children are exposed to harmful pesticides (as indicated by ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which was universally ratified in 2020).

First and foremost, child labour should be stamped out, especially in its worst forms, which means that most attention must be placed on agriculture.

For this to happen, there needs to be a multi-pronged approach to all facets of the problem that promotes inclusive rural transformation and rural development. Efforts should be focused on tackling poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, increasing access to education, empowering women and youth in rural areas, and partnering with all stakeholders, including the rural communities, cooperatives, private sector and all value chain actors, to sustainably transform the agri-food industry

Child labour occurs in many commodities or used for products exported to the European Union and other countries. Therefore, the EU has an important role to play. The EU is committed to ending child labour in agriculture especially in agriculture producing commodities that feed global supply chains. For example, under the EU’s sustainable cocoa initiative, the eradication of child labour has been given prominence alongside the increase of farmers’ incomes and the fight against deforestation. Through incentives for investments and support to partner countries business and EU companies, the aim is to create sustainable global value chains for food and goods exports, but also in domestic value chains, that will generate fair incomes for local producers. Through a strategic and systemic approach child labour can be stamped out and new decent jobs can be created for empowered rural youth.

Cotton is one of the world’s most widely grown crops and most important agricultural commodities. Directly and indirectly, cotton production and the textile and garment sectors are responsible for the economic growth, employment and food security of millions of farmers and families. However, cotton is one of the most common commodities produced with child labour and forced labour in at least 18 countries.

Through the CLEAR Cotton project, the EU is working with the ILO and FAO to eliminate child labour in all its forms in the cotton, textile and garment value chains in target producing countries, Burkina Faso, Mali, Pakistan and Peru.

The project combines an integrated area-based and value chain approaches to cooperate with governments, social partners, local farmers and communities, and international buyers. It seeks to strengthen national legislation, policies and programmes to address the basic needs and rights of children and to combat child labour and forced labour and is supporting local governments, public services providers, and other relevant stakeholders to take effective action to stop child labour and forced labour in these sectors.

The project has so far removed and prevented from child labour 4,000 children from the cotton fields and reintegrated them into special schools; older children have received training for suitable jobs when reaching the minimum age for work, also in the cotton and ancillary sectors.

Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana account for 70% of the world’s cocoa production. Cocoa is a major contributor to export earning, and it is the main source of livelihoods for almost 7 million farmers. At the same time, the EU is the world's largest importer of cocoa, accounting for 60% of world imports (ITC 2020).

Building on the political priorities under the European Green Deal and the Commission’s ‘zero tolerance’ approach to child labour, in 2020, the EU engaged in partnership with Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire and launched the EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative, a ‘multi-stakeholder dialogue for sustainable cocoa’, addressing the minimum living income of cocoa producers and sustainable cocoa production.

The EU is seeking to take on a coordinating role and work closely with a wide variety of actors, including national authorities, private sector, EU Member States, civil society, and other relevant organisations at the national, regional and global level, to support a framework for sustainable cocoa production, comprehensively addressing the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability, including child labour, farmers’ income, deforestation, fair trade and investment. A number of Cocoa Talks have been organised on various topics such as Child Labour Traceability, all presentations and reports are available here.

Building on these efforts, the European Commission has adopted a EUR 25 million package of technical assistance and budget support for Sustainable Cocoa in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon