Dear participants,
Thanks very much for your valuable contributions to date. Many interesting examples have been provided over the past week. This includes how specific countries have successfully tackled child labour in agriculture through, for example, conditional monthly cash payment transfers to rural families who had been previously engaging their children in child labour in Brazil. Participants have also pointed out important considerations such as unequal power relations between value chain stakeholders and the need for more marginalized groups, including landless and contract farmers, to receive specific support to enhance their participation in decision-making. Among several interesting contributions, there has also been mention of the importance of additional research on rural labour shortages and child labour, the need to look at the mental health of current and former child labourers and the potential of trade mechanisms including multilateral accepted monitoring standards that could improve social commitments amongst exporting countries and address child labour in globally traded agricultural products.
I encourage all participants to continue the discussion and new participants to share your experience based on the several questions listed above. To the extent possible, we encourage global, regional, national and community-based case studies on how certain policies or strategies have been effective and what has been the role of agriculture stakeholders in this process. Who have been involved in these policies or programmes from policy makers to rural community members? We kindly encourage you to list the theme or question for which you are providing your related experience.
Thanks again and we look forward to a continued fruitful discussion over the coming weeks.
Jessie Rivera Fagan [Facilitator]
Mme Jessie Rivera Fagan