Children’s work in the livestock sector: Herding and beyond

Children’s work in the livestock sector: Herding and beyond

Year of publication 2013

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Agriculture is by far the largest sector where child labour is found and one of the most dangerous in terms of fatalities, accidents and occupational diseases. Almost 60 percent of girls and boys (aged 5–17 years) in hazardous work are found in agriculture, historically and traditionally an under-regulated sector and one in which regulation enforcement is also difficult in many countries. Livestock forms a considerable subsector within agriculture, with global demand for animal products rising. The livestock sector is one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural economy and contributes 40 percent of the global value of agricultural output, according to the FAO State of Food and Agriculture report (SOFA, 2009). Furthermore, livestock represents at least a partial source of income and food security for 70 percent of the world´s 880 million rural poor who live on less than USD 1.00 a day (Neely et al., 2009). Within rural environments, livestock keeping has hi storical, cultural and traditional roots, and the involvement of children is very common. Age-appropriate tasks that do not expose children to conditions that are likely to cause them harm, that do not have negative health or development consequences and do not interfere with a child´s compulsory schooling and leisure time can be a normal part of growing up. Such acceptable work can teach a child certain skills and may have inherent social, educational and cultural value. However, much o f the work children do in the livestock sector can be categorized as child labour: it is likely to be hazardous, to interfere with a child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.

Language English

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Guidance on addressing child labour in fisheries and aquaculture 2013

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Child labour is a major concern in many parts of the world and it is estimated that there are some 215 million child labourers worldwide. Aggregate data indicate that about 60 per cent of child labourers – that is over 129 million children – work in agriculture, including fisheries and aquaculture. While there are limited disaggregated data on child labour specifically related to fisheries and aquaculture, case-specific evidence points to significant numbers. Children engage in a wide va riety of activities in capture fishing, aquaculture and all associated operations (processing, marketing and other postharvest activities), as well as in upstream industries including net making and boatbuilding. Children also perform household chores in their fishing and fish farming families and communities. When child labour is used as cheap labour to cut fishing costs, not only is harmful to the children, it may also have a negative effect on the sustainability of the fishery activ ity. Child labour appears to be particularly widespread in the small- and medium-scale sectors of the informal economy where decent work is poorly organised or absent. Although there is a widely ratified international legal framework to address child labour, – comprising ILO Conventions and other agreements, laws are effective only if they are applied and enforced, with incentives to ensure compliance. Addressing child labour is rarely high on the national agenda of social dialogue, legislation review and institution building. Its elimination is difficult because it is part of production systems, is nested in the context of poverty and relates closely to social injustices. Communities and institutions are often not fully aware of the negative individual and collective social and economic consequences of child labour. Practical and realistic pathways for improving the current situation and community engagement and buy-in are essential for successful results. More i nformation on child labour is needed to raise awareness at all levels. A critical first step towards eliminating child labour, in particular its worst forms, is to understand what constitutes hazardous work and what tasks and occupations are acceptable for children above the minimum legal age for employment. Not all activities performed by children are child labour. Convention on Minimum Age, 1973 (No 138), and Convention on the Worst Forms if Child Labour, 1999 (No. 182), define child labour on the basis of a child’s age, the hours and conditions of work, activities performed and hazards involved. Child labour is work that interferes with compulsory schooling and damages health and personal development. Concerted efforts are needed to effectively address child labour with multistakeholder participation and involving governments, development partners, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), employers’ and workers’ associations and other socioprofessional organization s, the private sector and communities (including children and youth). By applying holistic, participatory, integrated and feasible approaches, a better life for millions of children can be created.
Booklet

Tackling child labour in livestock keeping
Background paper
2021

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Livestock farming often takes place in remote rural areas where farmers and their families have limited access to infrastructure and basic social services, notably education, health, access to clean water and social protection. Moreover, farming practices are under pressure by, for example, climate change induced changes to weather patterns and urbanisation. Therefore, many livestock dependent families, especially small scale farmers and pastoralists, are generally vulnerable and face different types of risks and shocks. Their children may end up leaving their home areas to nearby towns and cities working rather than going to school, often performing hazardous work (for example in street work). This may fuel a downward spiral, depriving tomorrow’s herders and farmers of their health and education, increasing environmental degradation and perpetuating intergenerational poverty as families opt for child labour as part of short term survival strategies. Ensuring changes to land tenure system, agricultural practices, labour divisions and protecting children from hazardous work, while respecting the cultural rights of children, their families and communities, is essential to engage livestock farming communities on sustainable pathways. This paper seeks to analyse the dynamics underpinning child labour in livestock farming and identify the strategies that governments, farmers, private sector, international organizations and others may pursue to prevent and eliminate child labour in livestock keeping. This paper focuses on child labour in livestock keeping operations, but it is also important to note that child labour may also be present in the wider livestock value chains, e.g. in abattoirs, packaging, transport and so forth.
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أول يوم دراسي خالي من المبيدات 2017

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The heavy use of hazardous chemicals, including pesticides, in agriculture is a growing concern globally, from an agricultural, environmental, economic and social standpoint. In Lebanon, in the refugee crisis context, girls and boys are working in agriculture, and their exposure to pesticides is considered to be a form of hazardous child labour. Children are not only exposed as workers, but also as bystanders and consumers. Children’s exposure to pesticides can harm their physical development an d violates their rights. This means a future loss for rural communities and for agricultural development; these children, when they become adults, will not perform at their full capacity and potential. For the sake of children, as well as rural poverty reduction and food security, we need to take action to transform this situation. There is a need, in the specific context of the refugee crisis in Lebanon, to develop an educational material for the younger children living in very vulnerable condi tions in informal rural settlements and/or trapped in child labour situations in agriculture/food value chains. It will be based on the FAO-ILO visual guide: “Protect children from pesticides!” currently available in Arabic version, that has been developed to raise awareness and build knowledge at local level in Lebanon on the issue of hazardous child labour and exposure to pesticides.

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