Member profile
Ms. Lalaina Razafindrakoto
Organization:
FAO
Country:
Italy
Field(s) of expertise:
I am working on:
Travail des enfants
Ms. Lalaina Razafindrakoto
Discussion topic: Climate change and environmental degradation (subject: cocoa farming)
For many years, deforestation has been attributed to smallholder and family cocoa farming. This practice continues to increase greenhouse gas emissions and has a hugely negative impact on biodiversity, soil fertility, water quality and quantity. It affects local rainfall and threatens farmer livelihoods. Many areas in West Africa have observed a substantial decrease in cocoa production due to climate change (e.g. changing rainfall patterns and amounts, increasing temperatures). Under these circumstances and because of economic necessity, a growing number of children are pushed into child labour to act as a “buffer” against these shocks. With school closures and farmers’ disrupted livelihoods, the COVID-19 pandemic is putting them at greater risk.
Through public-private partnerships, some promising actions are being implemented on the ground to halt cocoa-related deforestation in West Africa and other regions such as Central America. Agricultural stakeholders such as farmers’ organizations and cooperatives and their communities should not be left behind. They need to be brought at the forefront and be fully capacitated to address these critical issues in an integrated manner and in collaboration with governments and companies in the cocoa and chocolate business. Agroforestry, labour-saving technology, good agricultural practices, livelihood-enhancing schemes, skills development for youth and migrant workers, women’s empowerment, community awareness raising and action planning, and traceability are among the action areas that could make a difference in the context of a collaborative approach. Until solid monitoring mechanism systems are in place, it will be also difficult to assess whether these critical issues of forest protection and child labour elimination are effectively addressed.
Ms. Lalaina Razafindrakoto
Policy coherence needs to be ensured in order to address the intertwined challenges of child labour in agriculture and youth employment.
Special attention should be given to the youngest category of youth (15-17) living in rural areas. These youth have reached the minimum age for employment (the general rule is 15 but some developing countries are allowed to set it temporarily at 14) yet are still considered children, therefore, they experience greater vulnerabilities in preparing and accessing for decent work opportunities.
Some of the barriers and challenges they face include:
Although the 15-17 age cohort have reached the minimum age for employment, when they are involved in hazardous work, it is considered child labour. Moreover, because the cohort can experience greater barriers to decent employment, especially in rural areas, they are at greater risk of exploitation, including child labour.
According to the Global Statistics on child labour released by Alliance 8.7 in 2016, there are almost 38 million children – 24 million boys and 14 million girls – of this age cohort in child labour. This is reinforced by country-level statistics indicating that the 15-17 cohort in child labour suffer higher levels of work-related illness and injury than other employed children in this age range. They are also more likely than other employed 15-17 year-olds to have dropped out of school prematurely. Most of them work in agriculture and undertake hazardous tasks in crop production, livestock, forestry or fishing because of rural poverty, lack of access to quality education and training, the informality and the seasonality of agriculture and other aggravating factors, such as climate change,. Thus, the 15-17 age cohort requires greater protection from occupational hazards and greater support in preparing and accessing decent employment opportunities in rural areas.