Decent Rural Employment

Nobel Laureate Satyarthi: "Hunger and child labour are closely interlinked"

12/02/2016

On the 10th of February 2016, José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General, and Kailash Satyarthi, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, discussed FAO’s role in the eradication of child labour in agriculture during a personal meeting held at FAO Headquarters, in Rome.

Satyarthi is a leader in the global movement to abolish child and bonded labour and heads the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, which aims to create, implement and advocate child-friendly policies that ensure the holistic development and empowerment of children worldwide.

Satyarthi's Foundation and FAO are united by the commitment to end child labour in agriculture. "We share many things" Satyarthi said. "Children who are hungry, children who are poor, children who are denied education, who are forced to work as child labors and child slaves are the same children. So these problems are all interrelated". Graziano da Silva said he saw Satyarthi’s Nobel Prize as a strong message in support of the work he does to have a world free from child labour and a way to focus more attention on the issue.

The FAO DG and the Nobel Laureate discussed the links between food security, peace and child labour eradication and FAO's efforts in the context of on-going crisis, such as in Syria and South Sudan, where FAO and other partner agencies are collaborating in mitigating the effects of the conflicts on agriculture and food security. They also discussed FAO’s support to social protection programmes that address the underlying causes of child labour. Across its work areas, FAO is paying increasing attention to child labour issues, ensuring that these are mainstreamed in its global mechanisms.

FAO's work to end child labour in agriculture

"More than 60% of child labour worldwide takes place in agriculture" Satyarthi stressed. He also noted that the nature of agriculture has changed over the past three or four decades and is currently far more hazardous for children: "It has become dangerous because of the use of chemicals", citing in particular the use of pesticides.

FAO has a long history of working to eradicate child labour and currently child labour prevention in agriculture is an integral part of its work to reduce rural poverty. In particular, FAO is:

    • Raising awareness and knowledge on the issue at global and country level. FAO generates knowledge to inform policy and action on child labour in agriculture, including in fisheries, and supports awareness and collaboration at national level. For instance, in December 2015, FAO and the International Training Centre of ILO strengthened inter-ministerial collaboration in Mali, Niger and Senegal through the workshop Transforming child labour into decent employment opportunities for youth in rural areas, organized in the framework of the ICA Programme. The event provided a platform to share diverse country and stakeholder experiences and to define synergies and concrete approaches to address the key issues.
    • Supporting countries to integrate child labour in policy, legislation, programmes and strategies. For example, in Cambodia, FAO's support has contributed to action by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to draft a national plan to address child labour in the fisheries sector, and a child development strategy for the Ministry as a whole. FAO has also developed the Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture to support agricultural programmes to analyze their impact on child labour.
    • Strengthening cooperation and collaboration between agricultural and labour stakeholders. For instance, in Lebanon, FAO has contributed to a series of workshops bringing stakeholders together to improve social protection, occupational safety and health and child labour in agricultural communities. In this context, on 5 February 2016, FAO organized a workshop in Beirut to foster social protection in agricultural communities, bringing together representatives of the ministries of agriculture and labour, local and international organizations, agricultural syndicates, and cooperatives.
    • Developing capacities. FAO works to build the capacities of governments, producers' organizations and their partners to address child labour in agriculture through their work. For example, FAO supported Malawi's agricultural extension department through a series of trainings and awareness raising materials to reach rural communities. In addition, the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) approach, applied worldwide, comprises a module dedicated to child labour prevention. In order to assist farmer field school facilitators and other extension agents to lead discussions on the protection of children from pesticides, FAO and ILO have also developed a visual guide: "Protect children from pesticides!". The guide is available in several languages (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and, shortly, Arabic) and adapted to different regional contexts.


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