FAO.org

On 28-30 July 2012, Washington hosted the first International Conference on Child Labour in Agriculture. Some 160 participants, representing governments, inter-governmental organizations, trade unions and farmers organizations, cooperatives, non-governmental organizations and corporations from more than 50 countries took part in the three-day conference, organized by the Global March Against Child Labour, a worldwide network of civil society organizations working to get children out of work and into school. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, a leading US advocate of efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, opened the conference, which mapped out a framework committing the groups to action.

At the Washington meeting, Bernd Seiffert of FAO’s Gender Equity and Rural Employment Division, chaired a workshop on addressing child labour in neglected agricultural sub-sectors, such as fishing, forestry and livestock-keeping.

He highlighted that the biggest part of global attention and initiatives do often not focus on those agricultural sub-sectors and stages of the value chain where the majority of child labour in agriculture can be found. This includes especially locally produced crops for family consumption and for commercialization on local markets within developing countries.

Seiffert explained that this problematic situation calls for a bigger focus and more support systems for the informal part of the food economy, such as unpaid and family employment in the absence of formal labour or sales contracts.He showcased recent commitment to address child labour in variuos countries, with support from FAO and the ILO.

According to Seiffert, whatever the sector, the key to success is working with rural communities, parents and children. Getting local communities on board is essential to break the vicious cycle of child labour, where lack of access to education limits future opportunities and perpetuates the cycle of poverty.

Go to: Child labour in agriculture