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Child labour is prevalent in cocoa-producing regions of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. In most cases, the children are working within the family unit and not earning an income. Poverty, lack of affordable labour and lack of post-primary educational opportunities are among the main reasons why children are engaged in child labour. By providing labour services at an affordable rate below market price, Community Service Groups are providing cocoa farmers with an alternative to child labour.

The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) has developed a good practice in which community registers are used to identify children engaged in, or at risk of, child labour in cocoa production.

In Côte d’Ivoire, older children (defined here as aged 12-17) face a number of challenges in post-primary education. Underperformance is an issue with enrolment and completion rates remaining low and quality of education needing improvement. Access to education is low for girls, poor families and those living in rural areas. Improving quality of and access to education would yield significant benefits. Cocoa-producing areas, in particular, would benefit in terms of reduced poverty, better employment prospects and the reduction of child labour.

In Ghana’s cocoa-growing communities, older children aged 15 to 17 are most at risk of hazardous child labour. Limited opportunities to attend senior secondary school or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) mean that older children instead engage in cocoa farming, where they are at risk of hazardous child labour involvement. Higher levels of educational attainment play a critical role in reducing both child labour and household poverty.

The United States Department of Labor regularly publishes a report on the Findings of the Worst Forms of Child Labour for all countries worldwide.