A new study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (“FAO”) in collaboration with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology has generated evidence from Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Nepal and Peru, indicating how climate change events influence children undertaking agricultural work. According to the report, 70% of child labour globally occurs in the agricultural sector which is highly dependent on natural resources impacted by climate change. Reference is made to the International Labour Organization- United Nations Children’s Fund findings that while child labour occurs mostly in family and subsistence farming, it also occurs in commercial farming. Incidence of child labour or child work are identified in the report according to gender, and impacts vary across countries, with the finding that not all climate events impact child labour but those that do are more likely to increase its occurrence.
Variance between gender and country
The report highlights that heavy rains increase the child labour of boys in Ethiopia and Peru, while in Côte d’Ivoire it increases the child labour of girls, but sees a decrease for boys. There is an increase in the child labour of girls during dry spells in Nepal, and this event is also an example of the variance between countries, as it sees a decrease in child labour for boys in Nepal, but an increase for boys in Côte d’Ivoire.
It is noted that cocoa farming in Côte d’Ivoire relies on family and child labour, with this also extending to migrant children, who are working there and are vulnerable to hazardous work involving pesticide and chemical use. In Ethiopia, coffee, tea and flower plantations are noted as using child labour.
Policy recommendations
Social protection policies for rural households, communication strategies that create awareness about the negative impacts of child labour, and fee-free education are amongst the report recommendations aimed at mitigating child labour. The training of farmers on climate-resilient coping mechanisms and policies aimed at reducing deforestation and degradation of land are also recommended, as deforestation was highlighted as the main environmental concern in Côte d’Ivoire.
The report includes an extensive literature review on research conducted on child labour, that discusses the nuances and the influence of poverty, access to education, employment opportunities, land size, financial resources, gender discrimination and cultural factors, which are also revealed through the qualitative data. It is an important study for policy-planning and would benefit students and researchers engaged in development studies, climate change, food systems and human rights.
The full citation of the report is: FAO. 2023 The relations between child labour and climate change in agriculture- Evidence on children’s work trends after climate-related events in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Nepal and Peru. Rome. It is available on the FAO website here.
Sustainable Capabilities 