The ILO estimates that 132 million children aged 5-14 work in agriculture around the world (more than 70% of child labour worldwide). Nine out of ten working children in rural areas are engaged in agricultural activities. It is estimated that in Africa, between 56 and 72 million children work in agriculture. Agriculture, together with mining and construction, is one of the most dangerous sectors. Children often work in hazardous conditions: spraying pesticides, applying fertilizers, sowing and harvesting crops. Children are usually working on their parents’ or relatives’ farms, often on a regular basis, dramatically affecting their schooling.  

Both Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have conducted specific surveys on child labour in their cocoa sectors in 2008. In Cote d’Ivoire, results show that, 53.2% of children living in cocoa farms carry heavy loads, 8.4% spray fertilizers, 5,5% cut trees, 4.6% spray pesticides (but more than 35% are indirectly involved in this activity). Children between 6 and 14 are the most vulnerable vis-à-vis hazardous activities. In Ghana, 46.7 % of children had participated in at least one hazardous cocoa activity during the last cocoa farming season, and less than a quarter (23.2%) used protective clothing while working on the farm. School enrolment rates reach more than 90%. In all communities where ICI runs a project, cases of worst forms of child labour were reported.

Children in cocoa growing areas face the realities of rural poverty (scarcity of land, food insecurity, lack of education infrastructure, access to potable water, poor health services, etc.). The regular practice of children working on cocoa farms is often a natural way of life for cocoa farmers who, for a variety of reasons, want to train their children and at the same time use them in order to reduce labour costs on the family’s farm. While children helping out can have positive benefits for them and their families, measures need to be taken to ensure this work is not hazardous and does not interfere with school. 

Trafficking

Our experience shows that most of the children who work on cocoa farms do so within their family structure and may be exposed to hazards. However illegal and exploitative practices exist. Indeed, when children are taken from their families, even with their consent, for the purpose of exploitation in cocoa farming this is considered human trafficking and is illegal. ICI is committed to working to see such practices are exposed and eliminated. Within ICI’s activities, trafficked children in cocoa have been identified and rescued both in Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Context

An ICI Report, in 2004, highlighted some of the underlying reasons for child labour, especially in cocoa growing areas.  These reasons include:

• Underlying poverty;
• Lack of income, and of profitable sustainable livelihood practices (both cash cropping and food cropping practices);
• Lack of alternative forms of livelihood;
• Poor parental care and break-up of family;
• Loss of parent due to death /stress in the family;
• Poor quality of services (i.e. education and health);
• Socio-cultural norms;
• Land tenure and contracting practices;
• Lack of awareness of risks;
• Poor education provision.

Many of the cocoa-growing families in West Africa are poor, often with little or no education and their cocoa crop is the main source of income. Children can be exposed to hazards unwittingly or through a lack of awareness - as their parents were when they were children. Children can be caught in the cycle of poverty which requires that they assist their family to survive and at the same time attempt to use formal education as a means to break out of the cycle. The poverty pattern can prevent children from attending school on a regular basis and often engages them in activities, which may be defined as hazardous by international standards. However, expectations are often low; therefore children’s labour can be part of the family livelihood and survival strategy and the current reality faced by some children in cocoa growing communities.

The 2004 ICI Report highlights that that cocoa farmers are among the most vulnerable occupational groups. In Ghana, a large proportion of cocoa farmers are below the poverty line due to small farm sizes and large family sizes resulting in high dependency ratios.  

Moreover, cocoa farmers who produce for cash can be vulnerable due to fact that they are often not farming enough food crops to sustain the family nor are they using sustainable agriculture practices to secure their future livelihood.  As cocoa is often grown in remote rural areas, communities face numerous challenges, such as the lack of education provision, or a difficult access to services (such as quality health centres).