Generational gaps and eliminating child labour in agriculture

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to economic growth and inclusive rural transformations, by reducing and preventing child labour and hazardous work of children in the agriculture sector. In particular the project aims to: 

• generate knowledge and awareness about the complex nature of child labour in agriculture and its impact on food systems;
• strengthen the capacity of regional and national stakeholders to design, implement and evaluate complementary policies and programmes to address the root causes of child labour in agriculture and eliminate hazardous work for children and youth, covering agriculture, health, education and social protection;
• promote quality education, training opportunities, and safe work conditions for children and youth of working age.

SET- UP AND PLANNING

The project covers different regions, with a specific focus on Lebanon, Pakistan, and Uganda. It is led by the FAO Decent Rural Employment team – based in the Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division – and engages several FAO technical units as well as regional and national partners.

Addressing child labour in agriculture requires complementary policies and programmes, covering agriculture, health, education and social protection. For this reason, the project entails a multisectoral approach, focused on engaging a wide range of agrifood actors, both vertically and horizontally, within a country, at the local and national level, but also at the regional and global level.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES

The FMM Committee has extended the project until December 2023 to allow the upscaling of the most effective activities in Africa and Asia and the Pacific. The extension will also serve to cover additional countries where promising processes and initiatives already in place (on child labour in fisheries, labour saving technologies, food security and livelihood opportunities for adolescents, for instance) will be supported for scaling up and replication.

CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED

The socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on rural populations and the loss of livelihoods have exacerbated children’s vulnerabilities and their involvement in child labour. Project activities have been reformulated to address the humanitarian context, shocks, food insecurity and their impact on children school attendance. The project is systematically engaging with partners and stakeholders, also through enhanced virtual platforms, in order to identify emerging needs and interests in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through training, innovative tools and community engagement, the project empowered stakeholders, especially youth, to address the issue of child labour. The emphasis on economic empowerment has reduced reliance on child labour, while integrating gender considerations has addressed child labour-related gender disparities and vulnerabilities. Technological innovations further enhance the project’s effectiveness. Overall, the project fosters holistic solutions, advancing not only child welfare but also broader community well-being and sustainable development in agriculture.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The project is strengthening the knowledge of the magnitude, drivers, and consequences of generational gaps in employment and child labour in agriculture. The studies carried out in this context focus on topics such as the relationship between mechanization and child labour in agriculture; child labour in the context of climate change; and the linkages between early entry into work and future poor decent work opportunities in agriculture.

At country level, the project has equipped a wide range of national agricultural stakeholders with capacities, tools and approachesto address the root causes of child labour in agriculture and eliminate hazardous work for children and youth in agrifood systems. It has also addressed generational gaps in agricultureby promoting younger youth’s access to education, training, and safe working opportunities in rural areas. Specific successful interventions include:

• Uganda: dissemination of policy recommendations to promote a safe working conditions for young workers aged 14-17 in the maize and dairy sector and provision of training for local government officials on occupational safety and health, pesticides exposure, and hazardous work of children. The advocacy and capacity building work resulted in the revision and adoption of the National Action Plan on Elimination of the Worst forms of Child Labour in Uganda.

• Pakistan: identification and promotion of promising income-generating activities for 500 women. Provision of training on preventing and reducing hazardous work for children through occupational safety and health for 60 members of the Green Climate Fund’s personnel. In addition, a module for Children’s Ecological Clubs on exposure of children to pesticides and youth safety in farm operations was developed and tested, in collaboration with the Farmers' Integrated Development Association.

• Lebanon: in-depth assessment of child labour in greenhouses in the country to inform programming solutions for greenhouses as a child labour-free and sustainable business opportunity. Provision of technical support to the Ministry of Agriculture for the development and consequent adoption of the Youth Protection Policy 2021-2025. Launch of a curriculum on occupational safety and health for agricultural high schools as well as an educational game app, called REEFI, created to promote occupational safety and health in agriculture among youth in the Arab region.

At the regional level, consultation with agrifood stakeholders were held inAfrica, Asia and the Pacific, and the Near East and North Africa,in order to engage agricultural stakeholders and accelerate concerted actions to address child labour, based on each region’s specificities. The outcomes of the consultations fed into thematic regional papers.

The activities and results of the project informed the FAO Global Solutions Forum - Acting together to end child labour in agriculture, held in November 2021, and the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, held in May 2022.