Dear colleagues,
Kasese district has a population of 694,987 and 139,406 house holds. 118,998 house holds are engaged in either crop growing or livestock farming. This is 85% of house holds. 70.7% depend on subsistence farming as main source of livelihood. 79,062 of children aged 10-17 are engaged in economic activities. (UBOS 2017).
Since majority of house holds depends on subsistence farming, the majority of children are working in family farms unpaid. Some Children work during class hours and they are engaged in the following activities land clearing, planting, irrigation, weeding, spraying, harvesting, processing, marketing, and nursery management. The working time per day is five hours. According to study by Paul Obua 2004, 48% of children working in Agriculture sector reported physical injuries
The Uganda Government has the National Plan for the elimination of worst form of child labour. It target to eliminate child labour which is hazardous and interferes with Education of the children. Most activities in Agriculture sector are hazardous and takes a lot of school time during planting and harvesting.
The government of Uganda is currently implementing NDP2 a holistic frame work for poverty eradication in Uganda. The plan is relevant to FNS under Agricultural sector strategy plan 2015/2020 and health sector development plan 2015/2020. The plans provides for food nutrition security, extension services and agricultural inputs.
I have never seen a study on how the Agricultural policies and strategies have contributed to the end of child labour in Agricultural sector. However, my experience as a Labour officer indicate that the government policies in agriculture and other interventions like free primary and secondary education have led to increase in school enrollment.
UBOS 2017 reported that about 25000 children aged 6-15 years were not schooling. The majority of this children are engaged in Agricultural sector. Despite the government efforts of providing social protection in terms of agricultural inputs, extension services and free primary and secondary education.
Recommendations.
1. The provision of agricultural inputs should target the house holds affected by child labour.
2. The extension workers should integrate child labour issues on their extension services.
3. The labour officer should carry out joint field work with extension staff.
4. The government should sensitise about child labour in the local value chain of agricultural produce by sector.
5. The government should provide the labour officer with adequate facilitation to inspect small hold farms to find out whether they comply with employment of children laws and regulation.
Karafule Swaib
Senior Labour officer
Kasese/ Uganda.
Sr. Swaib Karafule