How can agricultural policies and strategies help to end child labour in agriculture?".
Child labour has been a problem in most of the countries though they all are trying to end or even to reduce its magnitude. But no result has been achieved until now. We have seen most of the child labour has been seen in some sectors like public vehicles, industries, magic and circus, garbage management, and agriculture. Most of the countries have been suffered from the issues of child labour painfully. In this respect Nepal is one the countries which has a great problem of child labour in different sectors except somehow in the magic and circus. Therefore, Nepal has been done commitments and advocacies in various international and national forums to end or to mitigate the child labour from the country. But it has not yet been achieved the results as the expectations were done.
Nepal is an agricultural country where more than two-thirds of the employees are engaged in agriculture. Almost half of all the children in the country are economically active who are employed in different sectors but concentrating in agriculture occupation since their family members are doing works in farm land or talking to them about the activities of agriculture. The children go to the field even without the permission of their parents rather for their pleasures. But it has to be stopped the works of the children in each and every country. The policy / strategies should have to be undertaken by the government followed by the households too as follows:
A. Role of the government:
- It has to be incorporated in the main constitution of the country that no child labour will be mobilized in any sort of occupation including the agriculture sector.
- In the case of Nepal it has to be circulated in all the 3 steps federal, provincial and local government.
- Strictly mention in the act about the prohibition of the child labour.
- Banned in the consumption with restriction in marketing of the products that were done with child labour.
- Mechanisation in agriculture which can increase mainly the production, and reduce the human labour force on the other hand.
- More facilities to the children to go to the schools.
- Cheaper the wage rate of the labour in the country so that less family members including the children will be involved in farming.
- Provide opportunities to the children for developing their physical and mental status.
- Create opportunities of playing games in the schools and out of the schools.
- Heavily subsidise or full scholarship in education for the children.
- Publish and propaganda to stop the child labour in the country.
- Monitoring and supervision of the child labour directly by the authorities in the field.
B. Role of the family (household)
- Divert the mind of the children from working in the field to their books and schools.
- Discourage the children to go to the fields rather encourage to go their schools.
- More and more children to be admitted in the schools.
- Create homely environment to the children to spend their leisure time in the games and physical exercises or yog.
M. Dhananjaya Poudyal