The International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture (IPCCLA) was launched in 2007 to foster the participation of agricultural organizations in global efforts to eliminate child labour in agriculture. The partnership was established by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR); and the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF).

Poverty and inadequate enforcement of labour legislation are some of the causes of child labour in agriculture. The hazardous nature of agricultural work (pesticide management notably) and the structure of agricultural production need to be addressed in order to eradicate this practice. Stakeholders in the agricultural sector, together with policy makers and international organizations can play an important role to this end.

The Partnership has gained increasing recognition thanks to its steady engagement in major child labour policy dialogues, including the Global Conferences on Child Labour. Advocacy and awareness-raising efforts, such as the FAO’s Global Solutions Forum, have contributed to a better understanding of this issue, and on the need for agricultural and labour professionals to join forces, knowledge and expertise towards the elimination of child labour.

More particularly, the Partnership works at national, regional and global levels to:

• Promote cooperation between agriculture and labour stakeholders and ensure coherence of policies and programmes on child labour prevention.

• Promote youth employment opportunities in agriculture. 
• Integrate child labour concerns in the programming of activities of agricultural and labour organizations.
• Promote the adoption of safer agricultural practices and prevent children from carrying out hazardous work in agriculture.
• Improve rural livelihoods and income-generating activities.
• Carry out capacity building development activities at country level to support key actors in the agricultural sector to address child labour issues in national policies and programmes, extension services and monitoring activities.