It is widely understood that everywhere in the world agricultural work is hazardous. Hazards associated with sharp tools, pesticides, livestock, heavy loads, machinery, long hours and isolation can result in a range of physical, health and psychological harms of varying severity, the worst of which may be fatal.
Safety science tells us that the path between hazard and harm is seldom simple or linear. Rather, in the case of agriculture, it is mediated by a plethora interacting factors, from the socio-economic and demographic characteristic of the workers; through the type of farming system, the specific tasks and working conditions, and the nature and governance of the value chain; to the effectiveness of the state (and others) in monitoring labour practices and enforcing regulations.
My question is this: for Sub-Saharan Africa, do you know of evidence to suggest that children working in agriculture come to harm more frequently or experience different or more severe harms than adults? In other words, if child labour is ultimately about harm, should the discussion be framed as a crisis of ‘children’s harmful work’, or a more general crisis of ‘harmful work’?
博士 James Sumberg