The challenge of ending child labour remains widespread around the world with 160 million children engaged in child labour. Approximately half of these children are engaged in the agriculture sector.

Africa is home to nearly two-thirds of all the child labourers in the world. One-fifth of African children are engaged in child labour, with 85% of them working in the agriculture sector.

Overall prevalence of child labour in cocoa producing areas in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana has not substantially decreased over the last 10 years (1.56 million children)

The national legislation and policies of both countries have largely been aligned with the international conventions on child labour and have national action plans on the elimination of child labour. Child labour in cocoa has decreased in localities where reduction initiatives have been implemented but these initiatives have only covered between 10% and 20% of cocoa producing communities.

The overall objective of the study is to analyse the root causes and propose solutions to eliminate child labour in the cocoa value chain and promote responsible and sustainable cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.

KEY CHALLENGES

• Poverty of cocoa farmer households

There are low farm gate prices for cocoa beans, though gap analysis indicates that increasing prices alone will not solve the challenges to eliminating child labour. There are low farm yields per hectare due to ageing trees, infertile soil and outdated production methods. Farmers encroach on forestland to increase yields adding to environmental destruction. There are a lack of diversified incomes from sources other than cocoa to supplement incomes and farmers are often required to pay for public services, such as
children’s school materials and supplies, examinations, specific types of health care and other costs.

• Weak institutional environments

Child labour programmes have been implemented within low technical and logistical capacity environments. There has been limited mainstreaming of child labour into relevant policies and programmes.

• Weak enforcement of legal and regulatory frameworks

Enforcement to protect children from labour exploitation is limited.

• Lack of access to quality child protection services

• Lack of access to quality education

• Lack of decent work opportunities and Technical Vocational Education and Skills Training for older children/youth

• Limited access to targeted social protection, health and other social services

• Lack of sufficient and quality physical infrastructure

The result is disinterest and/or reluctance for children to attend schools and of the parents to send them.

• Internal and cross-border migration and trafficking

• Weak farmer-based organisations

• Deforestation

• Limited coverage of due diligence mechanisms

Due diligence coverage in cocoa producing communities with child labour reduction mechanisms is between 10 and 20% of cocoa producing areas. There is, therefore, limited identification, remediation and monitoring of child labour, including through international/industry development partners and producer governments.

• Limited attention to social inclusion

Socio-cultural attitudes, customs and practices combined with poverty result in a reliance on child labour as a fall-back option instead of hiring adult labour.

PROPOSED INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS

OVERARCHING

• Multi-stakeholder process platforms established and functioning at all levels to eliminate child labour and ensure that cocoa is produced sustainably.

• Systems approach adopted with continual improvement of initiatives based on consistent feedback from quantitative and qualitative data collected on child labour elimination initiatives and child labour prevalence.

• Operationalised result-based management system (RBMS) developed and implemented, building on and expanding due diligence accountability systems of all stakeholders.

SPECIFIC

• Partnerships and initiatives of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana Governments and corporate actors aligned with international conventions, standards, guidelines, national policies and plans.

• Strengthened enabling environment for reduced child labour and deforestation with particular attention to local development planning and implementation, and localities at high-risk.

• Poverty of cocoa producers and ancillary activity workers reduced in a context of improved decent work conditions within an environmentally sustainable environment.

• Increased and strengthened farmer-based organisations and giving communities a voice for effective functioning and contributing to reducing child labour.

• Social behaviour change communications on child labour elimination and deforestation strengthened and effective.