FAO FRAMEWORK   
ON ENDING 
CHILD LABOUR IN 
AGRICULTURE

FAO FRAMEWORK 
ON ENDING 
CHILD LABOUR IN 
AGRICULTURE
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Rome, 2020
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FAO. 2020. FAO framework on ending child labour in agriculture. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca9502en
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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................vii
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .................................................................... ix
PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE OF THE FRAMEWORK .......................................................x
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................. xiii
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................1
1 FAO AND CHILD LABOUR IN AGRICULTURE:  
 DEFINITION, VISION AND MISSION ............................................................5
1.1 Child labour definition ............................................................................5
1.2 Characteristics of child labour in agriculture and rural areas ...................10
2 RATIONALE FOR FAO ENGAGEMENT ON CHILD LABOUR IN AGRICULTURE .......... 13
2.1 Addressing child labour in agriculture to reduce poverty .........................15
2.2 Ending child labour: a prerequisite for sustainable food systems .............18
3 FAO GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON CHILD LABOUR IN AGRICULTURE ..................... 21
3.1 Inclusiveness .........................................................................................22
3.2 Sustainability ........................................................................................24
3.3 Integrated approach ..............................................................................25
3.4 Collaboration ........................................................................................26
iii
4 FAO AREAS OF WORK ON CHILD LABOUR IN AGRICULTURE ............................ 29
4.1 Promoting the adoption of safe practices in agriculture ...........................30
4.2 Fostering sustainable labour-saving technologies and practices ...............33
4.3 Including agriculture, food and nutrition  
 in school curricula in rural areas .............................................................37
4.4 Empowering and building the skills of youth aged 15–17 .......................39
4.5 Enhancing economic capacity and building resilience  
 of livelihoods through social protection ..................................................43
4.6 Addressing child labour in crop production ............................................47
4.7 Addressing child labour in capture fisheries and aquaculture ...................52
4.8 Addressing child labour in livestock .......................................................56
4.9 Addressing child labour in forestry ........................................................58
4.10 Promoting socially sustainable agricultural value chains ..........................62
4.11 Reducing risks and vulnerabilities in the context  
 of protracted crisis, food chain crisis and natural hazards ........................65
4.12 Reducing risks and vulnerabilities in the context  
 of climate change and environmental degradation ..................................68
5 KEY STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGEMENT .......................................................... 71
5.1 Knowledge generation ...........................................................................73
5.2 Monitoring and evaluation ....................................................................74
5.3 Policy advice .........................................................................................75
5.4 Capacity development ...........................................................................78
5.5 Reaching scale ......................................................................................79
5.6 Promotion of advocacy and partnerships ................................................81
iv
REFERENCES .........................................................................................................83
E-learning materials .............................................................................................91 
FAO resources on child labour in agriculture .........................................................92
BOXES ...................................................................................................................95
Annex 1: Tasks, hazards and risks of children’s work in crop production ....................... 109
Annex 2: Tasks, hazards and risks of children’s work in livestock ................................. 110
Annex 3: Tasks, hazards and risks of children’s work in capture fisheries  
 and aquaculture ..................................................................................... 112
Annex 4: Tasks, hazards and risks of children’s work in forestry .................................. 114
Annex 5: Good practices for addressing child labour ................................................. 115
Annex 6: Assessing programme impacts on child labour ............................................ 117
Annex 7: Examples of potential positive and negative impacts  
 of agricultural programmes on child labour ................................................ 118
Annex 8: Examples of child labour indicators related to children  
 at the household, community and policy levels ........................................... 121
Annex 9: FAO Integrated Country Approach to promote decent rural employment .......... 122
v
Figures
1 Definition of child labour ..................................................................................... 6
2 Vicious cycle of child labour in agriculture............................................................ 16
3 Virtuous cycle – from ending child labour to better livelihoods ................................ 17
4 Children aged 15–17 in hazardous work ................................................................ 31
5 Holistic approach to promote youth employment and  
 reduce child labour in agriculture ........................................................................ 42
Boxes
1 Examples of child labour in illicit activities in agriculture  ...................................... 95
2 Examples of hazardous tasks in agriculture  .......................................................... 95
3 Role of extension services .................................................................................. 96
4 Role of different United Nations agencies contributing to end child labour ................ 96
5 DIMITRA Clubs ................................................................................................. 97
6 Country experiences related to hazardous work lists ............................................... 97
7 A child labour lens in irrigation programmes ......................................................... 98
8 Decent rural employment – FAO applied definition ................................................. 98
9 Junior farmer field and life schools in Uganda ....................................................... 99
10 Coffee camps in Guatemala: 127 youths aged 16–29 .............................................100
11 Uganda’s National Strategy for Youth Employment in Agriculture .............................100
12 Unveiling linkages between cash transfers and child labour reduction in Kenya .........101
13 Increased awareness through the Rotterdam Convention ........................................101
14 Integration of child labour in national policies and frameworks: Cambodia ...............102
15 Capture fisheries and aquaculture in national hazardous work lists...........................103
16  Participatory, hands-on approaches to address child labour in livestock ...................104
17 Distributed ledger technology and blockchain ......................................................104
18 Addressing child labour in the context of crisis – the example of Lebanon ................105
19 Safeguards to monitor and support decent work and prevent child labour  
 through agriculture, food security and nutrition programming ................................105
20 A successful approach to mainstreaming child labour issues  
 in fisheries and aquaculture policy .....................................................................106
21 Questions when looking at coherence among relevant policy areas ..........................106
22 How child labour issues are considered in FAO global mechanisms ...........................107
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The FAO Framework on Ending Child Labour in Agriculture is a reflection of 
a decade-long efforts of FAO to help end child labour in agriculture and at the 
same time a reference point for scaling up FAO’s ambition  to better contribute 
to the challenging goal of eliminating  all forms of child labour by 2025 (target 
8.7 of the 2030 Agenda). This document owes much to the informal network 
of “champions”, FAO colleagues who have, throughout the organization, 
demonstrated commitment by integrating child labour elimination in FAO’s 
project implementation and normative work along FAO’s core functions. 
The Framework is the product of an extensive consultation process having 
involved technical units across headquarters and decentralized offices from all 
regions, initiated by the Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division (ESP), 
under the lead of Antonio Correa Do Prado, Director ad interim.
The overall consultative process was implemented under the authority of Máximo 
Torero, FAO Chief Economist and Assistant Director-General of the Economic 
and Social Development Department. 
The idea for the development and oversight of the process were effectively 
provided by Bernd Seiffert in its capacity as FAO Focal Point for Child Labour. 
The Framework was prepared with dedication by Ariane Genthon, Programme 
Officer (Child Labour in Agriculture).
Special thanks go to: Maria Lee, independent consultant, who developed 
the first comprehensive draft of the Framework, and to Peter Wobst for 
its unfailing guidance as Decent Rural Employment (DRE) Team Leader. 
vii
Significant technical contributions came from Jessie Fagan and Lalaina 
Razafindrakoto, as well as Jacqueline Demeranville, Ileana Grandelis and several 
other colleagues of the DRE team.
Gratitude goes to all those who provided substantial inputs and support, 
namely (in alphabetical order): Faten Adada, Lubna Al Tarabashi, Sonia 
Andrianarivelo, Sarah Barnhart, Daniela Battaglia, Niclas Benni, Vera Boerger, 
Carmen Bullon, Adriano Campolina, Andrea Cattaneo, Jonas Cedergren, 
Nadia Correale, Luisa Cruz, Maria Eleonora D’andrea, Ercan Dansuk, Farazi 
Ferdous, Yannick Fielder, Mayling Flores Rojas, Nicole Franz, Christine Fuell, 
Francesca Gianfelici, Marianela Gonzalez, Flavia Grassi, Alejandro Grinspun, 
Yonca Leman Gurbuzer, May Hani, Daphne Hewitt, Tomomi Ishida, Josef 
Kienzle, Veridiana Mansour, Felix Marttin, Antonio Mele, Emmanuel Moncada, 
Christiane Monsieur, Katalina Moyano, Zofia Mroczek, Lev Neretin, Ahmedou 
OuldAbdallah, Andrea PoloGalante, Victor Prada, Ahmed Raza, Rosa Rollé, 
Davide Rossi along with the Global Food Security Cluster, Libor Stloukal, 
Andrew Taber, Emily Tanganelly, Veerle Triquet (WFP), Margaret Vidar, 
Camilla VonLoeper, Sheila Wertz, Natalia Winder Rossi, Julia Wolf… and 
many others. 
Finally the work of Marco Fiorentini, communication specialist, Ruth Duffy, 
editor, and Studio Bartoleschi for graphic design is duly acknowledged.
viii
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 
CFS Committee on World Food Security
CPF Country Programming Framework
DRE Decent rural employment
EAS Extension and advisory services
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
ESMG Environmental and Social Management Guidelines
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FFS  Farmer field school
FSN Food Security and Nutrition 
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute 
ILO International Labour Organization
IMO International Maritime Organization
IPM Integrated pest management
IPPCLA International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture 
ITU International Telecommunication Union
IUF International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering,   
 Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations 
JFFLS Junior farmer field and life school
M&E Monitoring and evaluation
NGO Non-governmental organization
NWFP Non-wood forest product
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  
OSH Occupational safety and health
PFS Pastoral field school
PO Producer organization
SAFA Sustainability assessment of food and agriculture systems
SFVC Sustainable food value chain
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SRI System of Rice Intensification
UN United Nations
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
UNIDROIT International Institute for the Unification of Private Law
WHO World Health Organization
WFP World Food Programme
YUNGA Youth and United Nations Global Alliance
ix
PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE OF THE FRAMEWORK  
The Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) 
acknowledges that child labour undermines the 
Organization’s efforts to eradicate hunger, malnutrition in 
all its forms and poverty of present and future generations. 
If children are still overwhelmingly found working in harsh 
conditions instead of benefiting from education, it is not 
possible to achieve sustainable agriculture and food systems 
feeding the world, protecting the planet and guaranteeing 
good livelihoods for farmers. FAO recognizes accountability 
within its programmes and support to its Members, and 
takes responsibility to contribute to the elimination of child 
labour in agriculture. The 2030 Agenda and its Target 8.7 of 
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), together with 
the impetus provided by the 2021 International Year for the 
Elimination of Child Labour declared by the United Nations 
General Assembly, call for wider engagement and provide for 
greater opportunities to make a difference.
The purpose of the FAO Framework on Ending Child Labour 
in Agriculture is to guide the Organization and its personnel 
in the integration of measures addressing child labour 
within FAO’s programmes and work at the global, regional 
and country levels. It aims to enhance compliance with 
the Organization’s operational standards and strengthen 
coherence and synergies across the Organization and with 
partners. In particular, the Framework intends to: increase 
the understanding of what child labour is in agriculture; 
clarify why FAO works on the issue and what its mandate 
x
and areas of work are; help country offices in liaising with FAO 
stakeholders, such as agricultural line ministries, and other 
relevant ministries (in particular the ministry of labour) and 
partners, raising their awareness on the links between child 
labour and FAO’s areas of work; and support country offices in 
liaising with resource partners and mobilizing partnerships and 
action to help end child labour in agriculture.
The Framework is also relevant for FAO governing bodies and 
Members, and provides guidance and a basis for collaboration 
with development partners. The Framework is also to be used 
as key guidance to assess and monitor compliance with FAO’s 
environmental and social standards addressing prevention and 
reduction of child labour in FAO’s programming. The Framework 
has been developed based on consultations across the 
Organization, and builds on the results of the work carried out 
to date by FAO in the area of child labour in agriculture. The 
Framework is also informed by the findings of FAO publications 
and guidance documents on child labour in agriculture.
THE FRAMEWORK STRUCTURE
The Framework is structured, as follows, in five chapters:
1. FAO and child labour in agriculture: definition, vision and mission.
2. Rationale for FAO engagement on child labour in agriculture.
3. FAO guiding principles on child labour in agriculture.
4. FAO areas of work on child labour in agriculture.
5. Key strategies for engagement.
xi
©ILO
xii
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ENDING CHILD LABOUR WILL BE DECIDED  
IN AGRICULTURE
Eliminating child labour is a global priority, embedded in Sustainable Development 
Goal (SDG) 8.7, which provides for the elimination of child labour in all its 
forms by 2025.1 The world will not be able to achieve this goal without the 
elimination of child labour in the sector of agriculture.2 Indeed, the International 
Labour Organization (ILO) 2017 global estimates show that child labour is 
overwhelmingly concentrated in agriculture. Of the 152 million children who 
are in situations defined as “child labour”, the vast majority – 108 million girls 
and boys between the ages of 5 and 17 – are to be found in farming, livestock, 
forestry, fishing or aquaculture (ILO, 2017a). 
Ending child labour in agriculture is crucial for future decent youth employment 
opportunities, the reduction of poverty and the achievement of food security. 
It strongly interlinks with SDG 1 for poverty reduction and SDG 2 for food 
security and nutrition.
1 This SDG target is under the responsibility of the ILO.
2 Clarification of terms: The Framework applies to different forms of agricultural and food security programmes 
and projects. For reasons of legibility, the expression “agricultural programmes” used herein covers all these 
forms. The term “agriculture” includes the following subsectors: crop production; livestock husbandry and 
herding; fisheries and aquaculture; and forestry.
xiii
Agriculture is by far the greatest employer of both girls and boys  
in child labour.
Sectoral composition of child labour, percentage distribution, 5-17 years age range, by sex
100%
16.1% 18.6%
80% 12.4% 11.1%
60%
40% 71.5% 70.3%
20%
0%
Male Female
Services Industry Agriculture
Note: By “employer”, the ILO refers to agriculture as an occupational sector. An employment  
relationship does not necessarily involve permissible work, remuneration or a formal contract.
Source: ILO (2017a).
There is an economic case for ending child labour in agriculture. In 2004, an 
ILO study calculated that the costs of eliminating child labour worldwide would 
be in the area of USD 760 billion, while the benefits would be nearly seven 
times that – an estimated USD 5.1 trillion in the developing and transitional 
economies where most child labourers are found (ILO, 2004). 
The need to address child labour within the scope of agricultural programmes 
can be approached from different angles:
> Child labour is a human rights issue. All children have a right to childhood, 
including the right to protection from economic exploitation and from labour 
that jeopardizes their development, education or health. Children are not 
small adults: their bodies are developing and as such, they proportionally 
need more sleep and more water, and they inhale more often than an adult. 
A task that is innocuous for an adult can have a long-term negative effect on 
the physical and cognitive development of a child (FAO, 2019a). There is a 
shared responsibility to ensure that agricultural, food security and nutrition 
interventions do not cause any harm to children and offer sustainable 
alternatives to child labour.
xiv
CHILD LABOUR IN AGRICULTURE KEY FACTS
> Across the world, 152 million children are exploited in child labour. Some 
71 percent of them – nearly 108 million boys and girls – work in agriculture. 
> A total of 45 million girls and 63 million boys are in child labour in agriculture, 
but girls shoulder a disproportionate responsibility for household chores. 
> Most girls and boys trapped in child labour (70 percent) are “invisible” 
unpaid family workers.
> The number of child labourers in agriculture increased by 10 million between 
2012 and 2016, driven in part by conflicts and climate-induced disasters. 
The incidence of child labour in countries affected by armed conflict is 
77 percent higher than the global average. 
> In the next decade, up to 175 million children are likely to be affected every 
year by natural disasters brought about by climate change (UNICEF, 2010).i
> Agriculture is one of the three most dangerous sectors, together with mining 
and construction. Globally, 73 million children are involved in hazardous work. 
> Nearly half of all child labour in the world takes place in Africa where 
72 million children – or one in five – are in child labour and the vast 
majority are engaged in agriculture; it is followed by Asia with 62 million.
i UNICEF. 2010. The benefits of a child-centred approach to climate change adaptation. London.  
(also available at https://www.uncclearn.org/sites/default/files/inventory/unicef02.pdf).
Source: ILO. 2017. Global estimates of child labour: Results and trends, 2012–2016. Geneva.  
(also available at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/
publication/wcms_575499.pdf ).
> Child labour is detrimental to children’s education, acquisition of higher-
level skills, health and nutrition,3 and it decreases their chances of accessing 
decent employment as youth and adults.
3 More research is needed on the impacts of child labour on children’s nutrition.
xv
> The children of today are the farmers, fishers, foresters and livestock raisers 
of tomorrow. Ending child labour in agriculture means building a safe path 
for girls and boys, providing them with a choice to contribute to society 
based on their individual capacity and interest, potentially empowering 
them to become active agents of the transformation and modernization 
of agriculture; reducing gender inequalities in agriculture, by paving the way 
for equitable socio-economic opportunities for boys and girls; supporting 
agriculture that can feed the world of tomorrow and preserve the environment. 
THE RATIONALE AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR  
FAO’S ENGAGEMENT (Chapter 2)
Addressing (the underlying causes of) child labour in agriculture 
contributes to poverty reduction and zero hunger. FAO’s engagement in 
addressing child labour plays a part vis-à-vis FAO’s global goals: child labour 
contributes to and derives from rural poverty, and is intertwined with hunger 
and the degradation of natural resources. Through its interventions, FAO has 
the potential to make a difference in the lives and future of children in the 
agricultural sector and rural areas, preventing their exposure to hazardous work, 
enabling access to education (and vocational training for children above the 
legal working age), improving livelihoods and the resilience of their families, 
and ultimately breaking a trans-generational cycle of poverty, food insecurity 
and malnutrition, in a gender equitable manner. 
Addressing child labour is a prerequisite for sustainable agricultural 
development. Productivity and the development of the agricultural sector 
suffer as a result of the negative health and social outcomes of premature work 
and poor working conditions. Furthermore, when children drop out of school 
they have fewer chances of accessing decent job opportunities (IPEC, 2015) 
and fewer choices of livelihood. By integrating systemically child labour issues 
in the Organization’s interventions including in its environmental and social 
policies, FAO can strengthen the sustainability of agriculture and food systems 
from subsistence-based settings to the upper stages of value chains. FAO cannot 
afford the cost of leaving child labour unaddressed.
xvi
Addressing child labour will be ever more urgent in the context of 
climate change, environmental degradation, unpredictable weather patterns 
and soil depletion, which forces families to seek alternative sources of income. 
FAO’s comparative advantage in addressing child labour in agriculture lies 
in its technical expertise in the different subsectors of agriculture, and in rural 
development and food security, and its capacity to address two of the main 
drivers of child labour in agriculture – the economic and functional dependency 
of families – and in promoting transformative approaches in agriculture-related 
legislative and normative processes and social policies. FAO’s widespread 
presence at the country level, and its longstanding and solid relationships with 
agricultural and rural stakeholders represent unique assets.
FAO’S APPROACH TO ENDING CHILD LABOUR  
IN AGRICULTURE IS INFORMED BY  
FOUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES (Chapter 3) 
> Inclusiveness. Age groups, gender, social and cultural contexts – with a 
life cycle approach – are comprehensively considered.
> Sustainability. Social, environmental and economic dimensions reinforce 
each other and should be considered jointly. While child labour belongs to 
the social pillar, which is often left lagging behind, it depends strongly on 
environmental and economic considerations.
> Integrated approach. Child labour has multiple underlying causes; 
addressing one at a time – for example, poverty or labour market aspects – is 
not sufficient. Complementary aspects are taken into account, such as food 
security and agriculture and food production systems.
> Collaboration. Joint and coordinated efforts across FAO and with external 
partners are required to end child labour in agriculture.
xvii
WHAT DOES FAO DO TO END CHILD LABOUR  
IN AGRICULTURE? (Chapter 4)
The prevention of child labour is already integrated in FAO’s operational 
sustainability standards and policies such as the Environmental and Social 
Management Guidelines (ESMG) and the associated Compliance Reviews (FAO, 
2015a) (Box 3). But FAO also works to address the main underlying causes of 
child labour across agricultural subsectors through the following entry points: 
> A large share of child labour is due to the hazardousness of the tasks 
undertaken by children.
– Promoting the adoption of safer practices in agriculture to reduce hazardous 
work in particular by developing capacity on occupational safety and health.
> Much of child labour happens in agriculture because of the labour-intensive 
nature of the tasks or the difficulty of identifying and remunerating an adult 
workforce to accomplish those tasks. 
– Fostering labour-saving technologies and practices to reduce demand 
for labour (in particular for tasks that often engage children). 
> Hunger is a strong factor pushing families to send their children to work. 
– Strengthening the nexus between food security and nutrition interventions 
and child labour through the common lens of hunger as a trigger for 
negative coping mechanisms.
> Education is often not valued in agricultural communities because it is 
considered not relevant for rural areas and is yet another negative factor for 
child labour. 
– Integrating agriculture and nutrition topics in education in rural areas 
to make school more relevant and valued by caregivers resorting to child 
labour. 
> Most interventions targeting youth overlook younger workers aged 15–17 
who are in child labour situations but could be in decent employment if 
their working conditions improved.
– Including children that reach legal working age – “younger workers” – in 
decent rural youth employment interventions.
xviii
> Household poverty and economic vulnerability are the main determinants 
of child labour.
– Fostering economic inclusion of rural households through social protection 
and initiatives aimed at enhanced productivity, income diversification 
strengthened producer organizations and other measures including child 
labour-sensitive targeting of agricultural and poverty reduction programmes 
and investments.
> Child labour is found in many local, regional and global agricultural value 
chains since children’s work is free or cheap and lowers the costs of production.
– Integrating child labour concerns in interventions that support the 
development of sustainable agricultural value chains.
> When a crisis strikes, a child’s life is likely to be negatively affected. This 
includes their role within the household and the community.
– Integrating child labour concerns, from assessment to impact, in interventions 
in humanitarian and fragile contexts.
> Climate change and environmental degradation make agricultural work more 
intensive, more hazardous and income less predictable. Children might work 
to meet labour demand and compensate for the economic vulnerability of 
their families. 
– Integrating child labour concerns throughout climate change programmes 
and related guidance.
xix
©FAO/A.K. Kimoto
HOW DOES FAO WORK TO END CHILD LABOUR  
IN AGRICULTURE? (Chapter 5)
FAO relies on six strategies derived from the Organization’s core functions:
> Knowledge generation. FAO works to address specific knowledge gaps 
on child labour across countries and within different agricultural subsectors. 
The Organization also develops communication materials and facilitates 
the exchange of good practices and lessons learned at the local, regional 
and global levels.
> Monitoring and evaluation. FAO’s monitoring and evaluation framework 
helps to plan preventive, mitigating and corrective actions of its programmes 
towards child labour. 
> Policy advice. FAO supports governments to integrate child labour issues 
into national agriculture and rural development policies and strategies and 
helps agricultural stakeholders’ involvement in labour policy dialogue. 
> Capacity development. FAO develops tools to increase the understanding 
of agricultural stakeholders vis-à-vis child labour and the role they can play 
at various levels (policy, statistics, partnerships, communication and advocacy, 
private sector, good agricultural practices) to address it. 
> Reaching scale. FAO recognizes that specific programmes targeting 
children will not be enough to prevent all forms of child labour. Ending 
child labour needs to come from broader food security and agricultural 
and rural development programmes that lift people out of poverty. The link 
between the rise of child labour in agriculture and the increase in conflicts 
and climate-induced disasters also requires that FAO programmes fully 
take on board this issue.
> Promotion of advocacy and partnerships. FAO engages in major 
international initiatives, including the World Day Against Child Labour, 
to raise awareness on priority areas of action to eradicate child labour in 
agriculture. Regional initiatives and more localized action also have a key 
role to play in advocacy and partnerships. 
xx F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
INTRODUCTION
Child labour in agriculture requires urgent  
attention and action 
Over the last decades, the majority of child labour persists in agriculture 
and the proportion of child labourers in agriculture has increased by 
more than 10 percent from 2012 to 2016 (ILO, 2017a), driven in part by 
conflicts, forced migration and climate-induced disasters. This trend represents 
an enormous economic and social cost for children, their families and society, 
perpetuates the cycle of poverty, and ultimately undermines efforts to achieve 
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular those that are closely 
related to the work and mandate of the Food and Agriculture Organization of 
the United Nations (FAO), such as SDG 1 on poverty reduction and SDG 2 
on zero hunger and nutrition.
While the available knowledge and data on the prevalence of child labour in the 
different agricultural subsectors indicate that child labour is present, evidence 
is scattered and uneven. The International Labour Organization (ILO) releases 
regular global estimates on the agricultural sector at large, and no disaggregation 
by subsector or major value chain is available. But there is a great disparity between 
the attention granted towards global value chains in recent decades, resulting 
in more knowledge of the share and characteristics of child labourers in cocoa, 
shrimp or cotton, versus sub-sectors, i.e. crop farming, fisheries, livestock or 
forestry as well as domestic and regional value chains where most child labour 
happen and which have been largely overlooked.
1
2 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
©RECA/Ibrahim Habi
Progress or failure on Target 7 of Goal 8 will be decided in agriculture. 
Target 8.7 calls for “immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced 
labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition 
and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, […] and by 2025 end child 
labour in all its forms.” Progress in achieving this goal requires a breakthrough 
in agriculture. 
Sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition 
interventions can provide solutions to child labour 
By contributing to poverty reduction, agriculture and food security interventions 
have the potential to produce positive impacts on the situation of children and 
are already contributing to children’s survival and healthy nutrition.
Agricultural, food security and nutrition interventions are not child-labour 
neutral. They can have positive but also unintended negative impacts on children. 
These interventions are extremely diverse and this framework provides basic 
guidance on the nexus between areas of work and their related interventions 
and child labour and how to improve the integration of child labour concerns 
in those interventions (Chapter 4). However, in most cases the impacts are 
not considered. Integrating child labour concerns in all FAO interventions 
is important to identify good practices, reduce risks and mitigate unintended 
negative consequences.
Coordinated efforts are needed to end child labour 
in agriculture 
FAO has a longstanding collaboration with the ILO at the country, regional 
and global levels to eradicate child labour in agriculture. FAO collaborates 
with other agencies, such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 
and the World Food Programme (WFP) – in particular in the aftermath of 
crisis and in the framework of the country-level collaboration facilitated by the 
activation of clusters (Protection, Food Security) – as well as the International 
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), on exploring how to mainstream 
child labour in agriculture issues in large agricultural investment programmes. 
I N T R O D U C T I O N 3
Since 2007, FAO has been a member of the International Partnership for 
Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture (IPCCLA), which brings together 
the ILO, IFAD, the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, 
Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF) and the International 
Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The Partnership aims to foster the 
participation of agricultural organizations in global efforts to eliminate child 
labour in agriculture, but also to build capacities of key actors in the agricultural 
sector to address child labour issues in national policies and programmes. In 
addition, FAO is a member of the Global Coordinating Group of the Alliance 
8.7, joining forces globally to end child labour.
In 2017, at the IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child 
Labour held in Argentina, representatives from the United Nations (UN), 
governments, and employer, worker and civil society organizations signed 
the Buenos Aires Declaration on Child Labour, Forced Labour and Youth 
Employment. For the first time in the history of the global conferences on child 
labour, the need to address child labour in agriculture was given high relevance 
in the official outcome document.
Two years later, on World Day Against Child Labour 2019, FAO, the European 
Commission and the ILO jointly organized the global conference “United to 
End Child Labour in Agriculture”, calling for acceleration and joint efforts to 
achieve the target of zero child labour by 2025.
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2021 the “International 
Year for the Elimination of Child Labour”. FAO is releasing this Framework 
to help end child labour in agriculture. 
4 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
1
FAO AND CHILD LABOUR 
IN AGRICULTURE: 
DEFINITION, VISION AND 
MISSION
5
©ILO
1.1 
Child labour definition
The definition of child labour is set by the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 
(No. 138) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), 
which are only a few countries short of being universally ratified. Additional 
guidance is provided in the related Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 
(No. 146) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 
(No. 190). Protecting children from economic exploitation is also included in 
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, Article 32.
Child labour is commonly defined as work that is inappropriate for a child’s 
age, affects children’s education, or is likely to harm their health, safety or 
morals. It is work that impairs children’s well-being or hinders their education, 
development and future livelihoods (Figure 1). 
The worst forms of child labour include, in addition to hazardous work, all 
forms of slavery (sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, 
and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment 
of children for use in armed conflict), and the use, procuring or offering of a 
child for prostitution or pornographic materials or performances, as well as for 
FIGURE 1 Definition of child labour
CHILDREN  CH ILD WORST FORM S OF HAZARDOUS 
IN ECONOMIC LABOUR CHILD  LABOUR WORK
ACTIVITY
Source: FAO (2017a).
6 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
illicit activities (Box 1). These worst forms jeopardize the physical, mental or 
moral well-being of a child, either because of their nature or because of the 
conditions in which they are carried out.
Hazardous work is work that is likely to harm the health, safety or morals 
of a child (Article 3[d] of Convention No. 182). This work is dangerous or 
occurs under unhealthy conditions that could result in a child being killed, or 
injured and/or made ill as a consequence of poor health and safety standards 
and working arrangements. Some injuries or ill health may result in permanent 
disability. Often health problems caused by working as a child labourer may 
not develop or appear until the child is an adult. Hazardous work should be 
identified at the national level (Box 2). 
The overlap group (14/15–17 years) belongs both to the child (0–17) and 
youth (15–24) age groups. The overlap group corresponds to a category where 
children have reached legal working age (set at 14 years old in some developing 
countries, and 15 or 16 in most countries). They can be either in child labour 
or in youth employment as younger workers. The determining factor is the 
danger of the tasks performed by those younger workers. A child of this age 
group spraying hazardous pesticides is a child labourer. A child of this age group 
applying safely biopesticides is a younger worker. 
Given its mandate, the focus of FAO’s work in this area is child labour in 
the agricultural sector, including in family-based agriculture, with particular 
attention to the nexus between child labour and poverty. Not all work carried 
out by children in agriculture is considered child labour. Some activities may 
help children acquire important agricultural and life skills for their future, ensure 
intergenerational knowledge transfer and contribute to their family’s livelihood. 
However, because agriculture is among the three most dangerous sectors to work in 
at any age in terms of work-related illness, accidents and fatalities, understanding 
what is and what is not child labour is key to successfully addressing the issue. 
F A O  A N D  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E :  D E F I N I T I O N ,  V I S I O N  A N D  M I S S I O N 7
Here are some core criteria that can help draw the line between what is and 
what is not child labour: 
CHILD LABOUR REFERS TO WORK THAT: CHILD LABOUR IS NOT:
> engages children below the Age appropriate tasks that are not 
minimum age for employment; hazardous and do not interfere 
 with a child’s education. On 
> interferes with   the contrary, these tasks can 
compulsory schooling; be helpful for a child to 
> is hazardous; and/or acquire agricultural and 
life skills for their future, 
> is mentally,  physically, to ensure inter-generational 
socially or morally dangerous knowledge transfer and can contribute 
and harmful to children. to their family’s livelihood.
As mentioned above, the line between permissible activities and child labour 
to be eliminated therefore depends on the child’s age, the activities performed 
(and related hazards) and (non-) interference with compulsory education:
> Children who are over the age of 13 (in developing countries this can be 
12) can do light work as long as it does not threaten their health and safety 
or hinder their education or training. National governments are expected 
to determine what is acceptable light work at the local level, although few 
countries have done so. A threshold of 14 hours per week, together with the 
obligation to undertake working hours during daylight, are two important 
universal provisions for light work. 
> Children who are over the age of 15 (in developing countries this can be 14) 
or younger workers can work full time as long as it does not threaten their 
health and safety or hinder their education or training.
> Children under the age of 18 are not allowed to do dangerous work or work 
in dangerous or unhealthy conditions which could result in illness, injury or 
death. This is known as hazardous work.
8 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
FAO’S VISION AND MISSION on ending child labour in agriculture
FAO’s ultimate vision is that of: 
a world free from hunger and malnutrition, where food and agriculture contribute to 
improving the living standards of all, especially the poorest, in an economically, socially 
and environmentally sustainable manner (FAO, 2013a).i
Acknowledging the multiple dimensions of child labour in agriculture and the 
interlinkages between child labour in agriculture, poverty reduction, sustainable 
agriculture, and food security and nutrition, the vision and mission guiding FAO’s work 
on ending child labour in agriculture are the following:
VISION: Zero child labour in agriculture to achieve zero hunger 
FAO strives for a world where children are not exposed to hazardous work and have 
access to quality education and vocational training in rural areas, and sufficient and 
nutritious food, giving them the resources to grow and to become healthy, productive 
and skilled producers or workers of tomorrow.
MISSION 
Informed by the knowledge and evidence generated on child labour in agriculture, and 
in collaboration with relevant partners, FAO supports governments to address child 
labour issues through national policies that fall within FAO’s mandate (e.g. food security 
and nutrition, agriculture and rural development, rural poverty reduction and natural 
resource management), enhancing dialogue between in-line ministries, in particular 
agriculture and labour ministries, and with other stakeholders such as producer 
organizations and the private sector engaged in agriculture. 
FAO aims to develop the capacity of agricultural stakeholders to address the root 
causes of child labour in agriculture and promote alternatives, by securing better 
livelihood options for rural households, fostering safe agricultural practices and 
technologies, and decent work opportunities for rural youth who have reached legal 
working age.
FAO advocates and raises global awareness on child labour in agriculture, through its 
engagement in major international initiatives, including the International Partnership 
for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture (IPCCLA), the World Day Against Child 
Labour and the Alliance 8.7. Across its work areas, FAO pays increasing attention to 
child labour issues and ensures that these are considered in its global mechanisms.
i FAO. 2013. Reviewed Strategic Framework. Paper prepared for the thirty-eighth session of the FAO 
Conference, June 2013. FAO internal document. Rome.  
(also available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/027/mg015e.pdf).
F A O  A N D  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E :  D E F I N I T I O N ,  V I S I O N  A N D  M I S S I O N 9
Developing countries that have ratified the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 
(No. 138) have the option to designate a higher age or, in exceptional cases, an age 
1 year lower than the standard. For example, the ILO recommends the minimum 
age for employment in fishing vessels to be 16 (Article 9.1, Work in Fishing 
Convention, 2007, [No. 188]4 ), given the specific challenges of this occupation.
1.2 
Characteristics of child labour in agriculture  
and rural areas
Child labour in agriculture is driven by pull (demand side) and push (supply side) 
factors and is much determined by the features of agriculture as an economic 
sector and occupation. 
Some features of agricultural work may present additional challenges for 
controlling the way it is carried out, especially among children. It may be:
> seasonal – agricultural labour demand depends on production cycles and 
seasonal movements of animals; 
> informal – many economic activities in agriculture are, by law or practice, 
not registered or insufficiently covered by formal regulations;
> hazardous – agricultural work often involves the use of hazardous tools or 
equipment, and toxic substances such as pesticides, and agricultural workers 
can also be exposed to extreme weather conditions, rough seas, biological 
hazards, long/irregular working hours, or carrying heavy loads; 
> under-regulated – workplaces can be in remote locations or fragmented, 
or concealed for illegal purposes, making law enforcement difficult (FAO 
and ILO, 2017a).
Child labour in agriculture is often invisible as most children work as unpaid 
family workers in dispersed small-scale farms or rural enterprises, or is actively 
4 The Convention establishes that the minimum age for work on a fishing vessel is 16 years, or 15 for persons 
who are no longer subject to compulsory schooling, and who are engaged in vocational training in fishing or 
preforming light work during school holidays. Full text at:     
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312333
10 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
hidden by employers facilitated by the limited reach of labour inspectors in 
rural areas (FAO, IFAD and ILO, 2010). Data available on girls’ and boys’ 
labour in agriculture are limited and not captured by conventional surveys as 
children in a situation of child labour are often referred to as “helpers” assisting 
the parents on the family farm, on fishing boats, in plantations, in mountain 
areas, herding livestock – although they may do similar work to adults and the 
tasks are equally strenuous. Furthermore, most national surveys still do not take 
into account domestic chores, failing to capture the children’s “double-burden”, 
more often shouldered by girls.5 Another characteristic is the very early entry 
into work of children as young as 6 and 8 years (Guarcello, Lyon and Valdivia, 
2016). Gender aspects and distribution of tasks within the household are 
key determinants of why, how and under what conditions children engage in 
labour. Also, the consequences of child labour are highly gendered, leading to 
the reproduction of gender discrimination patterns in agriculture. Girls who 
enter early marriage are no longer considered children, regardless of their age, 
representing an additional characteristic of girl child labour in agriculture. 
The seasonality of agricultural work is yet another contributing factor to child 
labour. Seasonal work sites may be far away from schools and other services, 
such as day care, and admission on a seasonal basis may be problematic or even 
impossible due to the informal or irregular status of seasonal migrant workers. 
Workers may be paid by output or may need the labour of all family members 
to pay back debts incurred in the migration process. Consequently, children may 
be brought to the fields to support their parents working and are exposed to 
many of the same workplace hazards as their parents. Difficulties in rejoining the 
education system on their return may further increase the risk of child labour in 
the areas of origin. Children who remain at home while adult family members 
migrate may be at risk of being engaged to replace adult labour on the farm, in 
particular if the family went into debt to support the migration or is not receiving 
money or goods from the family member who migrated. While migration can 
provide new opportunities for families and their children (improved incomes, 
better access to education), it can also be an important determinant for child 
labour, in particular for children of seasonal agricultural migrants. 
5 There is a fine line between household chores performed by girls and girl child labour, but what we can say 
is that the household chores have implications for opportunity of schooling or for succeeding at school 
(De Lange, 2009).
F A O  A N D  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E :  D E F I N I T I O N ,  V I S I O N  A N D  M I S S I O N 11
Household poverty and economic vulnerability are important push factors for 
child labour. Poor households without access to credit can be less likely to be 
able to postpone children’s involvement in work and invest in their education, 
and more likely to resort to child labour in order to meet basic needs and deal 
with uncertainty. In addition, rural families may have less access to financial and 
insurance markets, limiting their potential to increase or maintain productivity, 
and therefore influencing their dependency on child labour. In this context, 
children can also actively seek work opportunities to gain independence, 
glimpse into adulthood, earn an income, and escape parental control or school 
responsibilities. The lack of access to basic and meaningful quality education 
and skills training or limited employment opportunities in rural areas can 
create little incentive for households to send their children to school.
Children are also pushed into child labour by uncertainties, risks and negative 
shocks affecting households, which can reduce their incomes and cause children 
to drop out of school and work to contribute to the family income. Economic, 
agricultural and environmental and climate-related disasters, such as drought, 
crop failure or floodings, can affect agriculture, creating large swings in income, 
such as an adult member of the family losing his/her job, and/or health-related 
shocks, with the surge of diseases induced by climate change (e.g malaria, 
dengue), like a serious illness or an employment injury, can drive children to 
work to support their families. Conflicts represent another push factor. 
Moreover, cultural, social and demographic factors in rural areas are powerful 
drivers of child labour in agriculture. For instance, rural families may perceive 
the involvement of children in agriculture as part of their culture and a way 
of “helping out” and learning. There is also the case of children fostered with 
wealthier members of the extended family being expected to work in the fields 
and carry out domestic work in exchange for access to education or in order 
to give the opportunity for younger siblings to access education. Caregivers or 
parents may not be aware of the harmful consequences of certain activities and 
circumstances, including being out of school. Establishing space for dialogue 
and discussion at the local level is important to understand and value local 
knowledge, attitudes and practices, while raising awareness on harmful situations 
and promoting practical solutions. 
12 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
2
RATIONALE FOR FAO 
ENGAGEMENT ON CHILD 
LABOUR IN AGRICULTURE
13
©Giorgia Prati
The causes of child labour in agriculture are multiple, but a central root cause 
is household poverty. And conversely, child labour – and its opportunity cost 
as children are deprived of education and healthy development – perpetuates 
the vicious cycle of remaining poor in the future. Rural poverty reduction – a 
core mandate of FAO – is therefore the starting point for successful strategies 
against child labour, since improving overall household economic situations 
and increasing agricultural productivity can improve families’ income security 
and reduce dependence on extra labour or income supplied by children. 
A sustainable food system is one that delivers food security and nutrition for all 
in such a way that the economic, social and environmental bases for generating 
food security and nutrition for future generations are not compromised. Child 
labour is untenable for the realization of sustainable food systems. More 
specifically, FAO’s comparative advantage resides in its:
> Mandate, which encompasses areas of work that are critical to end child 
labour in agriculture and, in particular, reduce rural poverty, enable more 
inclusive and efficient food systems and increase resilience of livelihoods to 
threats and crises. FAO as the UN specialized agency with intergovernmental 
status in food and agriculture has a comprehensive mandate, authority and 
capacity to work globally on all aspects dealing with agriculture.
> Technical knowledge of agriculture, which is critical to support countries 
to design and implement efficient and sustainable measures, policies and 
programmes, for example by promoting agricultural practices and technologies 
that reduce or remove work burden and hazards, or demand for labour. 
FAO has staff with a broad range of expertise across its areas of mandate 
working in an interdisciplinary fashion. FAO has extensive experience in 
supporting partners, Member States and other international, national and 
local development actors to access knowledge, information, training tools, 
good practices and services in capacity building in its mandate areas.
> Privileged relationships with agricultural stakeholders who play an 
important role in ending child labour, including national governments and 
agriculture-related ministries. FAO has facilitated stakeholders’ processes 
and participation to develop proposals for designing national agricultural 
strategy and policy, supporting the updating and revision process of related 
legislation and strengthening the effectiveness of public institutions, in line 
with development priorities and agricultural stakeholders’ needs and demands.
14 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
> Longstanding experience in bringing together and facilitating dialogue 
and collaboration among diverse actors as governments, producer 
organizations, extension officers, civil society associations and research 
institutes. FAO has networking capacity at the national, regional and global 
levels with convening power to facilitate policy dialogue, foster negotiation 
of agreements and bring a wide range of stakeholders together to debate 
policy and agree on solutions.
2.1 
Addressing child labour in agriculture  
to reduce poverty 
Child labour is a cross-cutting issue interplaying with all of FAO’s strategic 
programmes to end poverty and hunger in particular in rural areas, where child 
labour is frequent.
How poverty and child labour are interconnected. Many low-income 
households in rural areas find it difficult to meet their immediate basic needs 
and to achieve sustainable livelihoods. This condition is particularly worsened 
by the impacts of climate change as they merely increase the already-prominent 
levels of vulnerability of rural communities relying on healthy ecosystems for 
their subsistence. They see no way other than to engage children to supplement 
or substitute adult labour. In many cases, children are pulled out of school to 
engage in agricultural labour, or their performance at school suffers. They are 
less likely to find decent work when they are older, less likely to adopt new 
practices and technologies and innovate if they remain in agriculture, and more 
prone to be trapped in poverty and suffer the long-term effects of the hazardous 
conditions they faced as children. This has a negative impact on communities 
and perpetuates a vicious cycle of poverty (Figure 2). 
Breaking the vicious cycle. Ending child labour in agriculture can be 
achieved through prevention and reduction. Preventing can mean enabling 
rural children to benefit from healthy development, education and training. 
This allows them to have increased economic potential once they become 
youth and adult producers or employees, and be more likely to adopt new, 
R AT I O N A L E  F O R  F A O  E N G A G E M E N T  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 15
FIGURE 2 Vicious cycle of child labour in agriculture
LOW AGRICULTURAL 
PRODUCTIVITY COMBINED 
WITH VULNERABILITY POVERTY
LIMITED CAPACITY 
TO INNOVATE AND 
RESPOND TO SHOCKS CHILD LABOUR 
UNSKILLED LABOUR, 
WEAK BARGAINING POWER LOW PARTICIPATION IN 
AND LOW EARNINGS EDUCATION AND POOR HEALTH
Source: FAO (2016a).
sustainable practices and technologies if they remain in agriculture. Skilled youth 
are in a better position to bargain and negotiate working conditions if waged 
workers, or to gain access for selling their commodities if young entrepreneurs. 
In turn, this will increase the productivity of the agricultural sector as well as 
the availability, quality and capacity of a skilled workforce leading to better 
incomes and enhanced food and nutrition security (Figure 3). 
Agricultural, food security and nutrition programmes that aim to increase 
productivity, reduce poverty and improve livelihoods all have the potential 
to reduce child labour. This entails integrating child labour concerns in those 
programmes from the design to the monitoring and evaluation phase. The FAO 
and the ILO e-learning course on ending child labour in agriculture (FAO, 
2016a) and the FAO handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour 
in agriculture (FAO, 2015b) provide guidance on how to integrate the issue of 
child labour in programmes and policies. 
16 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
FIGURE 3 Virtuous cycle – from ending child labour to better livelihoods
DECENT WORK, POVERTY 
ELIMINATION AND BETTER LESS CHILD LABOUR 
LIVELIHOODS IN RURAL AREAS
IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY, HIGHER SCHOOL 
RESILIENCE AND PARTICIPATION AND 
FOOD AND NUTRITION IMPROVED HEALTH
SECURITY
INCREASED CAPACITY BETTER SKILLS, 
TO INNOVATE AND EMPLOYABILITY AND 
MANAGE RESOURCES ORGANIZATION
Source: FAO (2016a).
R AT I O N A L E  F O R  F A O  E N G A G E M E N T  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 17
©FAO
2.2 
Ending child labour:  
a prerequisite for sustainable food systems
Ensuring sustainable productive food systems and implementing resilient 
agricultural practices is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda and is spelled out 
under SDG Target 2.4. SDG 2 is also linked with the increase of production 
and incomes of small-scale food producers (see SDG 2.3). 
A sustainable food system is a food system that delivers food security and 
nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social and environmental 
bases to generate food security and nutrition for future generations are not 
compromised. This means that:
> it is profitable throughout (economic sustainability);
> it has broad-based benefits for society (social sustainability); and
> it has a positive or neutral impact on the natural environment (environmental 
sustainability) (FAO, 2018a). 
How to make food systems beneficial for children as part of social 
sustainability? (UNICEF, 2019). Children should be considered as a distinct 
group. Sustainable food systems should consider ensuring children’s food security 
and healthy diets. At the same time, in order to put an end to child labour in 
agriculture and food production, sustainable food systems should address the 
challenges and pressures that food producers and others in the systems have 
to cope with, impacting economic sustainability.
The nexus between child labour and productivity in small-scale and 
family farming is a complex one. Practitioners could argue that the transitory 
involvement of children in food production is inevitable to reach a minimum 
level of production in the absence of mechanization and an available or affordable 
workforce. Another assumption is that once a threshold of productivity is 
reached, the coping practice to resort to child labour would automatically end 
with limited and short-lived negative effects on the child’s capacity to access 
decent work and secure sufficient income as a youth and adult. However, evidence 
points to the opposite (IPEC, 2015). Sustainable food systems and efforts to 
18 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
increase productivity to feed the planet and secure a decent income for food 
producers are about the implementation of strategies to reach productivity levels 
by investing in knowledge, technologies and innovative practices, and through 
income diversification, and by not relying on child labour.
For several decades, FAO has been at the forefront of work towards sustainable 
food production and agriculture. In 2014, an FAO report (FAO, 2014a) laid 
down five principles for sustainable food and agriculture. Principle 3 supports 
human systems: “Agriculture that fails to protect and improve rural livelihoods, 
equity and social well-being is unsustainable.” The report puts forward a vision 
where “farmers, pastoralists, fisher-folks, foresters have decent employment 
conditions and work.” This is only possible if child labour in agriculture is 
addressed. The prevention of child labour is already integrated in some FAO 
documents that guide the development and implementation of FAO programmes. 
The development of sustainable food value chains can offer important 
pathways out of poverty for the millions of poor households in developing 
countries. The FAO Guiding principles for developing sustainable food 
value chains (SFVCs) (FAO, 2014a) look at the principles underpinning the 
development of SFVCs. The first three principles relate to measuring value chain 
performance from the perspective of the triple bottom line: economic, social and 
environmental sustainability. In terms of social sustainability, the upgraded value 
chain model should generate additional value and have no impacts that would 
be socially unacceptable, such as unhealthy work conditions and child labour. 
The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) developed Principles for 
Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) 
(CFS, 2014) that apply to all types and sizes of agricultural investment. The 
principles provide a guidance framework for public and private stakeholders in 
investment promotion, regulation, planning and implementation to ensure that 
agricultural investments contribute to sustainable development, including food 
security and nutrition and poverty eradication. Addressing the four dimensions of 
food security and nutrition – availability, access, stability and utilization – requires a 
significant increase in responsible investment in agriculture and food systems. The 
principle 2  supports the effective implementation of other international labour 
standards, where applicable, giving particular attention to standards relevant to 
the agri-food sector and the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
R AT I O N A L E  F O R  F A O  E N G A G E M E N T  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 19
The guidelines on Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture 
Systems (SAFA) (FAO, 2014b) provide a holistic global framework for the 
assessment of sustainability along food and agriculture value chains. The guiding 
vision of SAFA is that food and agriculture systems worldwide are characterized 
by four dimensions of sustainability: good governance, environmental integrity, 
economic resilience and social well-being. Absence of child labour is here an 
element of well-being.
The importance of child labour prevention through specific means is also 
integrated in: the Rotterdam Convention; the International Code of Conduct on 
Pesticide Management of FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO); 
the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries 
in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (FAO, 2015c); and 
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and 
FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains. The CFS is also 
developing voluntary guidelines for nutrition and food systems which aim at 
promoting sustainable practices.
Building on these guiding documents,  
FAO has an important role to play in supporting governments  
to integrate child labour in policies and programmes  
within its mandate. 
20 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
3
FAO GUIDING PRINCIPLES  
ON CHILD LABOUR  
IN AGRICULTURE
21
©IFAD/Rindra Ramasomanana
FAO’s approach to child labour in agriculture is informed by four principles: 
inclusiveness, sustainability, integrated approach, and collaboration, which 
should guide planning and operations in this area of work. 
3.1 
Inclusiveness 
Mainstreaming. The principle of inclusiveness implies that FAO’s interventions 
and project implementation systematically include the issue of child labour from 
the start during assessments and field studies to identify potential child labour 
situations, and incorporate child labour prevention as a cross-cutting issue in 
the design and planning stages, and in monitoring and evaluation systems. 
Directing attention also to overlooked situations. Currently most financial 
resources dedicated to addressing child labour are channelled towards addressing 
child labour in global value chains (cocoa, coffee, cotton) and their upper tiers, 
whereas child labour in small-scale production, including in local or regional 
value chains, remains largely neglected, despite its prevalence. It is important 
to go beyond the exclusive focus on selected global supply chains and increase 
resources for ending child labour in all situations, including local and regional 
value chains and subsistence farming. This means paying attention to child 
labour in all agricultural subsectors, especially where limited understanding 
exists regarding the share and characteristics of child labour (e.g. in livestock 
or forestry). 
Age sensitivity. Inclusiveness also means paying attention to different age 
groups. For example, particular attention is needed for youth who are above the 
minimum age for work but are still under 18 and, are neither in employment nor 
in education or training. Ensuring that they are either in decent youth employment 
(as younger workers) or in continuing quality education or a vocational training/
apprenticeship scheme is essential for their own social and economic rights. 
It is therefore important to ensure coherence between child labour reduction 
and youth employment interventions, considering the specificities of children 
who have reached legal working age (usually 14 or 15 years).
22 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
Gender sensitivity. Boys and girls are treated differently in most social 
systems, and therefore they perform different tasks and face different hazards 
(FAO, IFAD and ILO, 2010). For instance, boys tend to be more involved in 
hazardous agricultural work, such as operating machinery, herding animals in 
remote places, capturing fish on vessels and diving to disentangle nets. Girls, 
on the other hand, are often expected to help out with household chores, and 
their work burden often combines both productive and reproductive activities 
and may expose them to longer hours of work and other hazards specific to the 
tasks they perform, such as carrying heavy loads when collecting water or fuel, 
inhalation of smoke from cooking stoves or fish-smoking kilns, but also sexual 
harassment and gender-based violence. Gender differences in child labour vary 
depending on the local farming system, poverty levels, demographic conditions 
and social norms, among other factors. It is important to consider less visible 
forms of child labour, such as domestic work frequently assigned to girls. Tasks 
that are considered household chores (e.g. water and firewood collection) are 
very often linked with farm work, blurring the division between girls’ productive 
and reproductive work.
Recognition of indigenous identity. For indigenous communities, traditional 
work undertaken by children is perceived as essential for the transmission of 
knowledge and skills and for ensuring the continuity of cultural identity of 
indigenous groups. The FAO Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (FAO, 
2015d) was formulated to ensure that FAO makes all due efforts to respect, 
include and promote indigenous issues in its work. When it comes to child labour 
issues, it is important to have a clear understanding of what constitutes child 
labour as opposed to indigenous traditions of engaging children in certain tasks. 
In certain cases where indigenous communities are marginalized, indigenous 
children are more exposed to exploitation, sexual abuse and other forms of 
maltreatment (ILO, 2006). 
Recognition of the voice of children. Children should have the opportunity 
to take part in focus group discussions to inform programme design and to be 
considered in questionnaires on the distribution of tasks at the household level 
in farm settings. 
F A O  G U I D I N G  P R I N C I P L E S  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 23
3.2 
Sustainability 
FAO has developed a common vision and an integrated approach to sustainability 
across all agricultural sub-sectors (FAO, 2014c). This perspective, which is the basis 
for the effectiveness of FAO’s action on the ground, must equally address social, 
economic and environmental dimensions to ensure sustainability. Neglecting 
any one area jeopardizes the attainment of sustainability in the other areas. 
The common vision is built around five principles which provide a basis for 
developing national policies, strategies, programmes, regulations and incentives that 
will guide the transition to an agriculture that is highly productive, economically 
viable, environmentally sound and based on the following principles of equity 
and social justice:
1. Improving efficiency in the use of resources. 
2. Conserving, protecting and enhancing natural ecosystems.
3. Protecting and improving rural livelihoods and social well-being. Enhancing 
the resilience of people, communities and ecosystems, addressing the changes 
induced by climate change; and 
4. Promoting good governance of both natural and human systems.
In line with these principles (in particular Principles 3 and 4) the elimination 
of child labour in agriculture is an essential component of social sustainability 
and a precondition for achieving sustainable food and agricultural programmes. 
A do-no-harm approach is essential but not enough. Especially for interventions 
implemented in regions or value chains where child labour is prevalent, it is 
important to take an intentional approach to help end child labour in agriculture 
and incorporate specific activities and indicators to address the issue. 
FAO has developed a series of guidance documents (FAO, 2014a, 2015c; CFS, 
2014; OECD and FAO, 2016) that explicitly recognize the need to comply with 
international core labour standards and provide guidance to address a range of 
environmental, social and economic issues, including the elimination of child 
labour and the promotion of decent employment, as part of a responsible and 
sustainable approach.
24 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
3.3 
Integrated approach
Child labour is a multifaceted problem requiring an integrated and holistic 
approach. This means the involvement of different stakeholders and the 
implementation of different interventions responding to the demand and supply 
sides of child labour. An integrated approach can involve supporting families to 
increase their income and access to social protection, facilitating access to quality 
education, smoothing school-to-work transition, and improving families’ and 
children’s safety and health in farm and agricultural settings. This approach also 
requires raising awareness and building the capacity of agricultural stakeholders 
to integrate child labour prevention in policies and programmes.
The Roadmap for Achieving the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child 
Labour by 2016 (Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, 2010), adopted 
in 2010, recommended mainstreaming child labour concerns into development 
F A O  G U I D I N G  P R I N C I P L E S  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 25
©ILO
strategies at the national and local levels, especially those directed at poverty 
reduction. The Roadmap highlighted the areas that support an integrated 
approach to preventing and reducing child labour in agriculture: education, 
social protection, labour market policy, national legislation and enforcement, 
and sustainable and rural development.
In the context of the work programme on Decent Rural Employment, FAO 
has developed and been implementing an Integrated Country Approach (FAO, 
2020a) to support countries in adopting and implementing more youth-inclusive 
and employment-centred agri-food system development policies, strategies and 
programmes. The approach provides another entry point to support countries in 
addressing child labour in agriculture and the opportunity to increase coherence 
and synergies between policies intended to address child labour and decent 
youth employment. This is particularly important to respond to the needs of 
children aged between 14 and 17, who are often not acknowledged in policies 
and interventions targeting the heterogeneous group of youth and rural youth.
3.4 
Collaboration 
Within FAO – promoting collaboration among divisions, and between 
headquarters and decentralized offices. The objective is to strengthen coherence 
and synergies across the Organization but also to help staff of regional and 
country offices to address child labour issues in their work, when liaising with 
traditional FAO stakeholders, such as agricultural line ministries, labour-related 
stakeholders, and other agencies and resource partners. The Country Programming 
Framework (CPF) elaboration can represent an ideal process and dialogue 
between the country office and the host government, taking into consideration 
the priorities of the Cooperation Framework6 (UN, 2019). FAO can provide 
technical assistance to strengthen the sustainability and accountability of the 
CPF and integrate child labour concerns throughout use of this key planning 
and programming tool. 
6 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) – formerly the United Nations 
Development Assistance Framework.
26 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
At the country level – facilitating inter-ministerial dialogue and coordination. 
In most countries, the ministry of labour has primary responsibility for child labour 
policy and action, convening and coordinating steering committees and other 
mechanisms. However, FAO works with the ILO to facilitate inter-ministerial 
dialogue, especially collaboration between the ministry of agriculture (and other 
subsectors) and the ministry of labour, but also between other relevant ministries 
such as social development and education, at the national and decentralized 
levels to improve coherence of policies and programmes. 
Effectively addressing child labour requires the support of ministries beyond 
agriculture and labour (e.g. social protection, education, health). This can be 
done by including child labour in the Cooperation Framework, since the 
elimination of child labour is an objective aligned with the guiding principles of 
the Cooperation Framework (i.e. leaving no one behind, a human rights-based 
approach to development, sustainability and accountability). Collaboration 
between agencies and institutions may require the establishment of a formal 
contract (letter of agreement or memorandum of understanding) or may happen 
through national coordination arrangements (focal points, technical working 
groups, committees). These formal processes are important to facilitate dialogues, 
share relevant information and identify linkages to ensure coherence in policies 
and intervention. 
In collaboration with extension and advisory services (EAS) providers and 
producer organizations (POs) – taking advantage of their capillary presence 
in communities and on the frontline, interacting with farmers, fishers and 
livestock raisers on a daily basis. Importantly, EAS providers include not only 
public extension, but also a wide range of non-state and informal actors, such as 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), agri-inputs dealers, producer groups, 
farmer leaders, development projects. Thanks to this pluralism, they provide a 
very wide range of relevant services related not only to production but also to 
the promotion of safer and labour-saving technologies and the improvement 
of livelihoods. Moreover, if sensitized and properly capacitated, various EAS 
providers can also provide feedback to researchers and policymakers about the 
child labour situation on the ground, contribute to data collection, and raise 
awareness about the harmful effects of child labour. EAS providers are also 
considered ‘’bridging institutions’’, because they can play an important role in 
bringing various stakeholders together and facilitating cross-sectoral collaboration 
F A O  G U I D I N G  P R I N C I P L E S  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 27
at both the national and the community level to eliminate and reduce child 
labour in agriculture. Hence, FAO works to build the capacity of public and 
non-public EAS providers including POs on child labour prevention, sharing 
information on hazards and the identification of alternative practices (Box 3). 
In collaboration with small and medium enterprises involved in agriculture 
and food systems – promoting social dialogue with agricultural workers and 
working conditions that abide to fundamental rights at work, and the elimination 
of child labour. The promotion of fair and inclusive business practices, equitable 
and transparent transactions, and efforts to track the supply chain can successfully 
help to address child labour in agriculture. 
At the global level – involving different UN agencies (Box 4) and other actors 
which support the achievement of SDG Target 8.7 and the elimination of 
child labour. FAO partners with the ILO and IFAD within the UN system, 
and with IUF through the IPCCLA. FAO also supports the Alliance 8.7 and 
advocates for the integration of child labour in agriculture issues in international 
frameworks. In addition, FAO has a longstanding collaboration with UNICEF 
in researching the impact of cash transfer programmes and has recently expanded 
collaboration with IFAD to mainstream prevention of child labour in agriculture 
in the formulation of their investments programmes. 
28 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
4
FAO AREAS OF WORK ON 
CHILD LABOUR  
IN AGRICULTURE 
29
©IFAD/Giuseppe Bizzarri
As previously mentioned, agricultural, rural development, and food security 
and nutrition programmes have an important role to play in addressing the 
root causes of child labour. By helping countries to improve livelihoods of poor 
rural people, smallholders and family famers, in particular by increasing their 
productivity and diversification of income, FAO contributes to reducing the 
dependency of those families on child labour.
Key notions and messages about child labour can be embedded in FAO’s typical 
outreach and rural education tools, such as farmer field schools (FFS), nutrition field 
schools, farm business schools, and junior farmer field and life schools ( JFFLS).
Moreover, different entry points and approaches can be used to prevent child 
labour and protect children above the minimum legal age of employment from 
hazardous work and its consequences. This chapter presents the essential entry points.
4.1 
Promoting the adoption of safe practices  
in agriculture
Children have special characteristics in terms of physical, cognitive, behavioural 
and emotional growth that make them more vulnerable to hazardous work and 
expose them to additional risks. Some 48 percent of children worldwide undertake 
hazardous work, likely to harm their health, safety or morals. Nearly half of these 
children are in the youngest age group (5–11 years), and 42 percent are girls 
(ILO, 2017a). Moreover, almost 50 percent of children aged 15–17 working in 
hazardous work are found in the agricultural sector (ILO, 2018a) (Figure 4).
Common hazards across agricultural subsectors include long working hours, 
carrying heavy loads, repetitive movements, exposure to extreme temperatures, 
toxic chemicals, dangerous equipment and tools, and abuse or harassment. Other 
hazards specific to farming, fisheries, livestock and forestry also exist (Annexes 
1–4). Agricultural family-based work can be as hazardous as work outside the 
family (ILO, 2018b), since children tend to carry out tasks similar to those 
performed by adults and caregivers. Depending on the nature of agricultural 
production, children and adults face similar hazards, but the risks those hazards 
present are greater for children.
30 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
FIGURE 4 Children aged 15–17 in hazardous work
Children aged 15-17 in hazardous work,  Children aged 15-17 in hazardous work,  
by sex by sector
Half 
GIRLS SERVICES of 15-17 
37 25% years-olds % AGRICULTURE  performing BOYS 
INDUSTRY 49% hazardous 63% 26 work are in % agriculture
Source: ILO (2018a).
 A P P R OAC H E S 
FAO works on promoting sustainable agricultural production and safer agricultural 
practices for all, raising awareness on children’s exposure to hazardous work, 
and promoting alternative practices and risk management. Entry points and 
approaches include:
è  Developing educational materials on hazardous work for children and 
ways to reduce hazards (e.g. pesticides). Materials include visual tools, videos 
or educational game apps (e.g. a mobile app developed in Lebanon, which 
looks at risks and hazards associated with different agricultural settings such 
as horticulture, field crops and greenhouses).
The development of curricula for vocational training and higher education 
that integrate human health and occupational safety concerns, with special 
attention to children, represents a unique opportunity to better equip the new 
generation of professionals to address the issues of child labour, hazardous 
work and decent work in their future functions. 
è R aising awareness and enhancing capacity of agricultural stakeholders 
at the national and local levels, on health and safety risk assessments to 
identify work hazards for children and young workers and put in place 
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 31
occupational safety and health (OSH) measures that address exposure of 
working children to identified hazards. 
This can happen through national capacity-building workshops, training 
programmes for agricultural extension officers – including private extension 
services provided by buyers or development and education services provided by 
NGOs – and plant protection officers, and the incorporation of child labour 
concerns into extension guidelines, agribusiness curricula or FFS curricula. 
At the community level, awareness raising can take different forms such as 
participatory assessments, Dimitra Clubs, radio and TV programmes, public 
and village meetings, and Theatre for Development (Box 5). 
è  Supporting the integration of agricultural hazards for children into 
national hazardous work lists. These lists are required by all countries that 
have ratified the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). 
They include hazardous work activities and sectors that are prohibited for 
children in consultation with workers’ and employers’ representatives. FAO 
can play a role in identifying agriculture-related hazards to be included in 
the lists and in supporting the inclusion of agricultural stakeholders in the 
consultation process. At the country level, the various EAS providers (public, 
NGOs, POs etc.) who work with producers on a daily basis can contribute 
to collecting information on activities performed by children and related 
hazards, and relay them in the framework of this legislative effort (Box 6).
è  Facilitating collaboration between agricultural and labour stakeholders 
to identify complementary actions to address children’s exposure to work 
hazards in agriculture, especially in the informal economy and rural areas where 
labour inspectors tend to be less active. This includes FAO interventions in 
the context of the IPCCLA and initiatives such as the Clear Cotton Project 
(FAO, 2019b).
è Promoting alternative practices and enabling legal framework on 
sustainable agriculture and environmental issues that reduce health 
and safety hazards and risks in agricultural work. To reduce occupational 
hazards related to pesticide use, FAO promotes an integrated pest management 
(IPM) programme that combines different management strategies to grow 
healthy crops and encourage natural pest control mechanisms. Jointly with 
the United Nations Environment Programme, FAO performs Secretariat 
32 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
functions for the Rotterdam Convention, which contributes to regulating 
the import and export of certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides among 
its parties. It collects data on vulnerable groups, disseminates information 
via analogous and various digital means, and delivers technical assistance 
and capacity-development training to provide national stakeholders with 
strengthened capacity on pesticide management. Its work ensures that 
policymakers become aware of the risks farmers face when using pesticides 
and regulatory action can be taken. It further escalates the knowledge of 
these risks to the global level.
Strategies need to be adapted to the production characteristics, especially 
size. Specific examples for crop production, capture fisheries and aquaculture, 
forestry and livestock are provided in sections 4.6–4.9. 
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Introduction to child labour in agriculture – Lesson 3: Hazardous work and agriculture
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
J Pesticide management and child labour prevention 
Ending child labour. The decisive role of agricultural stakeholders (FAO, 2017b)
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
4.2 
Fostering sustainable labour-saving 
technologies and practices
Labour-saving technologies and practices can address labour constraints, reduce 
the time and effort needed to carry out specific tasks and increase productivity. 
In situations where family labour remains the main source of farm labour, 
labour-saving technologies and practices can improve labour productivity and 
enable families to be less reliant on the labour of their children. They can also 
provide safer working conditions for children and younger youth that are helping 
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 33
out on the farm. Introduction of new technologies, especially for post-harvest 
activities, can support livelihoods and family incomes and release children from 
the involvement of related tasks within the family unit. It should be noted that 
technologies and practices could have different impacts on the workload of 
women and men, and of girls and boys, depending on the division of labour 
and the specific tasks they are responsible for, but also depending on social 
norms Their adoption and the formulation of needs in relation to labour-saving 
technologies and practices should be accompanied by strategies to overcome 
some social norms and behaviours ingrained in local contexts (FAO, 2015e).
 A P P R OAC H E S 
FAO works to improve agricultural productivity and foster the uptake of 
appropriate labour-saving technologies and practices, which have the potential 
to reduce the need for children’s inputs. Interventions need to be designed and 
implemented in a socially responsible manner, taking into account the gender 
dimension of agriculture. Entry points and approaches include:
è Considering labour-saving technologies for activities that are usually 
carried out by children. For example, in many countries, children are 
commonly engaged in weeding. Technologies that save time and reduce 
the efforts for weeding include manual or mechanical weeders. Mulching 
(e.g. made of crop residues or plastic) or cover crops are also an efficient 
way of controlling weeds while also improving water retention in the soil. 
There are many labour-saving technologies that can be used for different 
cropping systems. In rice production systems, these include drum seeder, rice 
transplanter, portable cutter and reapers. The promotion of labour-saving 
technologies needs to be accompanied by proper training on their use and 
maintenance. Support services such as repair shops and spare parts need 
to be available where these technologies will be promoted to ensure their 
sustainability over time. 
è Supporting the provision of mechanization services (e.g. by individual 
farmers) in rural communities. Mechanization can help to address major 
bottlenecks in labour supply and respond to peaks of labour demand, 
representing an agribusiness opportunity for increasing income and creating 
jobs while addressing the issue of child labour.
34 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
è Improving access and reducing the time necessary for collection 
of water. This can have multiple positive effects related to child labour, 
especially for girls, as this role is often taken on by girls and women. Water 
harvesting at the household level can reduce child labour in water fetching. 
Girls spend less time collecting water, and have more time to go to school, 
and women spend less time collecting water and can dedicate their time 
to economically productive activities that increase household income and 
decrease the pressure on children to work (and/or carry out other domestic 
chores, again freeing up girls’ time for school) (Box 7). 
è Investing and disseminating labour-saving technologies for post-
harvest activities. For example, decreasing the labour requirement for 
storing, processing and transforming agricultural products can lead to a 
reduction in child labour in agriculture and the food sector along the chains. 
Assessment of this indirect effect would need to be systematically carried 
out (e.g. through food loss analysis), in order to identify critical loss points 
to be addressed for enhancing livelihoods and income generation. 
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 35
©ILO
è Reducing women’s work burden. The majority of women in developing 
countries are confronted with the need to combine economically productive 
work with household chores and the care and nurturing of their children. 
When women have to work away from home, children may take the 
responsibility of caring for their siblings or helping in the field instead of 
going to school. Labour-saving and mechanization technologies in general 
can reduce the drudgery of operations in the field while improving the labour 
productivity. These technologies can be used not only in on-farm operations 
(e.g. planting, transplanting and harvesting), but also for post-harvest and 
processing operations typically carried out by women (e.g. shilling maize 
with mechanical shellers) (FAO, 2018b).7 Such interventions can generate 
behavioural changes at the household level when combined with a gender-
transformative approach, using for example the Gender Action Learning 
System (FAO, 2019c) and the Dimitra Clubs.
è  Monitoring the disruptive impact (including unintended consequences) 
of labour-saving technologies. While labour-saving technologies or 
practices reduce the demand for child labour in one particular area of activity, 
the child may not necessarily attend school instead. The supply and demand 
for child labour might be transferred to other areas of agricultural activity, 
unless awareness raising about the benefits of education takes place and 
possibilities to easily access quality education are fostered (FAO, 2015b).
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Introduction to child labour in agriculture – Lesson 3: Hazardous work and agriculture
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
7 For saving time on processing of fish and adding value to the final product see an example in Sri Lanka at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePB9CbuWymw&t=41s
36 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
4.3 
Including agriculture, food and nutrition in 
school curricula in rural areas
There is a correlation between available indicators of school quality and child 
labour. Beyond the enrolment and indirect cost, inadequate amenities (including 
the absence of safe toilet facilities), poor quality and limited relevance of education 
all play a role in pushing children out of school and into child labour (ILO, 2018a). 
Introducing or strengthening agricultural and nutrition topics in school curricula 
can contribute to developing children’s knowledge about agriculture and nutrition, 
increasing environmental awareness, and changing their perception of farming. 
 A P P R OAC H E S 
FAO recognizes the important contribution that schools can make in member 
countries’ efforts to overcome hunger, poverty and illiteracy. Programmes around 
the world show that including food and nutrition in school curricula from as 
early as primary school raises young people’s interest in agriculture and the food 
sector (FAO, 2018c). FAO works with governments to integrate education on 
agriculture, food security and nutrition in schools, potentially improving levels 
of school attendance by making education more relevant to local lifestyles. There 
is evidence that ensuring a meal for children attending school, improves the rate 
of school attendance and therefore supports the right to education (Drescher, 
2002). Entry points and approaches include:
è Promoting practical learning. Learning gardens and farms allow children to 
be introduced to raising crops and livestock. They can increase the relevance of 
education for children through active learning and introduction of agriculture, 
livelihoods, and nutrition knowledge and skills into the curriculum. They also 
provide children with hands-on practical experience in food production and 
natural resource management, which serves as a source of innovation they can 
take home to their families and apply in their own household gardens and 
farms. In combination with nutrition education, learning gardens at school 
can provide children with a more diversified meal made with fresh products. 
Learning garden at school need to be well designed with the participation 
of families and communities. Their impact must be monitored to also avoid 
risks of child labour.
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 37
Finally, introducing or further emphasizing agricultural topics in school 
curricula can change children’s perception and knowledge of agriculture and 
employment opportunities along value chains. 
è Supporting local and inclusive procurement. FAO developed the Home-
Grown School Feeding Resource Framework (FAO and WFP, 2018), 
offering local farmers a regular market (schools) for their production. The 
framework acknowledges child labour as a barrier to education. This approach 
can boost local agriculture, create business opportunities for smallholder 
farmers and other vulnerable producers (including women, youth and 
members of traditional communities), and contribute to community socio-
economic development (FAO, 2020b). Integrating indicators on child labour 
(e.g. attendance and retention) to interventions that include this approach 
are critical for better understanding its impacts.
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
Home-grown school feeding resource framework (FAO and WFP, 2018) 
School food and nutrition framework (FAO, 2019d) 
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
38 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
4.4 
Empowering and building the skills  
of youth aged 15–17
Youth in rural areas of developing countries face enormous challenges in preparing 
for and accessing decent work, including in agriculture. These challenges are 
even greater for youth under the age of 18. This stage in life is typically decisive 
in terms of how youth will transition from school to work and the likelihood 
of transitioning out of poverty. 
Often there is a gap in national legislation between the age for compulsory school 
and the legal working age. Youth under 18 in rural areas can easily succumb to 
child labour if their work is hazardous and they face additional challenges in 
accessing decent employment opportunities, due to lack of skills, low bargaining 
power, limited access to information on labour regulations, as well as the existence 
of legal barriers and labour policy and regulations discrepancies, making them 
more vulnerable to exploitation. They often end up in the informal sector, working 
without an employment contract, for a low wage or under unsafe working conditions. 
Being below 18 years of age represents a major legal barrier to signing contracts 
and accessing financial services. Girls face additional barriers due to social and 
cultural norms, such as early marriage and pregnancy; they tend to limit their 
interest to traditional skills or simply abandon the learning path early (FAO, 2017c).
The 15–17 age group is also generally excluded with regard to government policy 
and programme design. Existing youth-related programmes and interventions 
largely focus on the 18–30 age cohort, mainly due to their emphasis on 
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 39
entrepreneurship. The 15–17 age group often falls through the cracks of both 
child labour prevention and youth employment programmes (FAO, 2016b).
The numbers of children in the worst forms of child labour can be dramatically 
reduced by putting in place effective protection measures for 14–17-year-olds 
who work in agriculture. Strategies include both measures specifically targeting 
children and those more broadly improving health and safety for all workers:
> Applying and raising awareness about the national hazardous work lists. For 
example, based on the results of a survey on child labour, the Government of 
Côte d’Ivoire updated its national hazardous work list and developed a list 
of light work activities (acceptable tasks) in different agricultural subsectors 
for children aged 13–16 (CNS, 2017), adopted in 2017.
> Putting in place OSH measures that address exposure of working children 
to work hazards. 
> Improving working conditions and arrangements, including by separating 
working children from particular work hazards.
 A P P R OAC H E S 
FAO promotes rural decent employment (Box 8) for youth, recognizing that 
youth is a diverse group and that those aged 15–17 need special attention to 
prevent them from doing hazardous work and facilitate their access to skills 
development activities. 
Entry points and approaches include: 
è Implementing junior farmer field and life schools (JFFLS). FAO has 
developed the JFFLS methodology that combines agricultural, business 
and life skills. The objective of JFFLS is to empower vulnerable children 
and youth to have a better future and improve their livelihoods and long-
term food security. The specific content of a given JFFLS training course is 
determined in accordance with local needs and the targeted audience (Box 9).
A specific training manual on the prevention of child labour in agriculture 
(FAO, 2010) has been developed in collaboration with the ILO, providing 
exercises and information for the integration of child labour prevention in 
JFFLS curricula and as part of the overall modular approach.
40 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
è Integrating youth aged 15–17 in decent rural employment initiatives 
targeting youth. FAO’s Integrated Country Approach for boosting decent 
jobs for youth in the agri-food system aims to support countries in adopting 
and implementing more youth-inclusive agri-food system development 
policies, strategies and programmes (Box 10). 
è Supporting youth employment in agriculture, including financial 
inclusion for youth. It is important to take into account the particular 
constraints and needs of the different age segments of youth in assessments, 
research and interventions to ensure initiatives are effective and that no 
one is left behind. Financial inclusion for rural youth can be considered a 
way to build resilience and economic independence, but also to enhance 
self-confidence and self-esteem. However, in many sub-Saharan countries, 
the minimum age to open a bank account is 18, while youth under 18 who 
have already started working would greatly benefit from access to financial 
services and financial literacy. Interventions that aim to increase financial 
inclusion in the context of youth employment in agriculture should therefore 
consider how the needs of different age segments could be met (Box 11). 
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 41
©Wissam Moussa for FAO Lebanon
è Adopting a life cycle approach. Child labour and youth employment are 
points on a continuum and strategies that address them must be closely linked 
in a life cycle approach. Child labour is detrimental to long-term health, 
education and higher-level skills acquisition, and decreases the chances of decent 
employment in youth and adulthood. As adults, former child labourers are 
more likely to rely on their own children’s labour to meet the household’s basic 
expenses, perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy and child labour. 
Programmes to prevent child labour and those that promote youth employment 
need to be designed taking into consideration a life cycle approach to meet 
the evolving needs children and young adults (Figure 5).
FIGURE 5 Holistic approach to promote youth employment and  
reduce child labour in agriculture
A HOLISTIC APPROACH IS NEEDED:  
young people require access to the right services, not an intervention that addresses 
only one aspect in isolation and does not lead to decent work.
PROGRAMMES TO PROGRAMMES TO  
PREVENT CHILD LABOUR PROMOTE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT
Children need to grow up nourished Youth need access to training 
and healthy and require access to opportunities in rural areas and 
quality education in rural areas to support to find a decent job 
give them the foundation on which to or set up their own business.
build a healthy and productive life.
Source: FAO (2018d).
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Promoting youth employment and reducing child labour in agriculture
Results from the FAO Expert Meeting addressing the challenges faced by rural youth 
aged 15 to 17 in preparing for and accessing decent work (FAO, 2017c)
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
42 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
4.5 
Enhancing economic capacity and building 
resilience8 of livelihoods through social protection
Social protection is recognized as a critical strategy for poverty reduction and 
inclusive growth. Social protection interventions are not usually designed and 
implemented with the specific aim of reducing child labour in agriculture; 
nevertheless, by addressing poverty, hunger and vulnerability, they have the 
potential to reduce children’s work and incentivize schooling. More specifically, 
social protection addresses economic and non-economic drivers of child 
labour through the following direct mechanisms (Singh and McLeish, 2013): 
> Contributing to remove the barriers to access education – with special 
attention to girls – promoting attendance (e.g. through school meals).
> Helping to make income stable and predictable for extreme poor households 
and minimize the economic dependency on child labour.
> Increasing the resilience of households to economic and climate-related 
shocks, as well as humanitarian issues, minimizing the risk of negative coping 
strategies (e.g. selling of productive assets which can lead to an increased 
demand in manpower, thus child labour) – including coping strategies with 
almost irreversible effects (e.g. taking children out of school and into work). 
According to research, crop failure is the economic shock pushing the highest 
number of children into child labour. 
> Providing specific and positive incentives to keep children out of work, for 
example, by making social protection benefits conditional on the achievement 
of certain health and education objectives (i.e. strong or “soft conditionality”).
Despite significant progress in the extension of social protection in many parts 
of the world, only 45 percent of the global population is effectively covered 
by at least one social protection benefit, while the remaining 55 percent – or 
4  billion people – are left unprotected and the majority of these people live in 
rural areas (ILO, 2017b). 
8 Resilience is the ability of people, communities or systems that are confronted by disasters or crises to 
withstand damage and to recover rapidly.
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 43
 A P P R OAC H E S 
For FAO, social protection encompasses three pillars: social assistance, social 
insurance and labour market regulations. FAO works to promote the expansion 
of social protection in agriculture and rural areas and recognizes the linkages 
between social protection and decent rural employment, with the potential to 
prevent child labour (FAO, 2017d). 
è Implementing cash transfer programmes. FAO and partners – including 
in the context of the Transfer Project (The Transfer Project, 2020) and From 
Protection to Production Project (Box 12) – have generated solid evidence 
on the impacts of national cash transfer programmes on child labour, 
highlighting not only the positive impacts, but also specific considerations 
in terms of design and implementation to prevent unintended impacts. Most 
of evidence on social protection and child labour has been concentrated in 
cash transfer programmes. Cash transfers reduce the economic barriers to 
access education, nutrition and health services, contribute to food security 
and dietary diversity, and have the potential to address some of the economic 
drivers of child labour. 
è Implementing school feeding programmes to reduce child labour by 
increasing school attendance. The last decade has seen a new component 
introduced into school feeding programmes, with food for the school canteen 
purchased from local smallholders through the public food procurement 
process. Home-Grown School Feeding programmes are conceived as an 
opportunity to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, boost local 
agriculture and strengthen the nexus among nutrition, agriculture and social 
protection, moving people out of poverty. 
The role and positive impact of social protection in preventing child labour 
and in addressing some of the drivers of child labour is not automatic. Careful 
consideration is needed in the design and implementation of interventions. For 
instance, evidence generated by FAO, UNICEF and partners clearly shows that 
access to social protection, including cash transfers, can enhance economic activity, 
including on farm. This may increase the demand for labour which sometimes 
can be met only by the members of the family, because of the unavailability or 
unaffordability of hired casual work. In these cases, children may need to take over 
some of the parents’ activities instead of going to school. Similarly, the decision 
44 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
CHILD-SENSITIVE SOCIAL PROTECTION
> Intervene as early as possible where children are at risk, in order to prevent 
irreversible impairment or harm – children working in agriculture tend to 
start working very early compared to other sectors.
> Consider the age- and gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities of children 
throughout the life cycle.
> Mitigate the effects of shocks, exclusion and poverty on households. 
> Include the most vulnerable children, such as children without parental 
care, and those who are marginalized within their families or communities 
due to their gender, disability, ethnicity, HIV and AIDS or other factors.
> Include the voices and opinions of children, their caregivers and youth in 
the understanding and design of social protection systems and programmes. 
> Adopt an integrated social protection approach, sensitive to potential gender 
discriminations.
Source: UNICEF & ILO. 2019. Towards universal social protection for children: Achieving SDG 1.3.  
ILO-UNICEF Joint Report on Social Protection for Children. (also available at  
https://www.unicef.org/reports/towards-universal-social-protection-children-achieving-sdg-13). 
to send children to work instead of school may not only depend on functional 
(dysfunctioning labour market) or economic (lack of liquidity) factors, but may 
also depend on other factors, including the geographical position of the household 
with respect to the school, poor quality of education or weak infrastructure.
Social protection interventions can be child labour sensitive:
> Inclusive assessments including age and gender. During assessments and 
programme design, the focus should be on the situation of children, existing 
child labour and potential risks due to vulnerabilities or poverty levels. It is 
important to identify the need for different age groups, sex groups and types 
of employment. This will provide opportunities to design social protection 
programmes that prevent and reduce child labour. Separate assessment on 
the situation of children and child labour may be needed. The assessments 
will need to estimate the direct and indirect expenses related to schooling, 
and the opportunity cost of no longer relying on the income brought by 
children in order to formulate interventions effectively addressing child labour.
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 45
> Monitoring of impacts. Indicators must be formulated to assess the impact 
of the interventions on child labour; there is no standard list of child labour 
indicators adapted to all situations. Indicators must be specific to the 
programme context and need to be selected on the basis of the child labour 
dynamics in the different agricultural subsectors. Ultimately and where 
possible, any data collected needs be disaggregated by age and sex. In certain 
circumstances, it may be useful to organize unplanned visits to field sites to 
ensure children are not engaging in hazardous work or being out of school 
as a consequence of the intervention.
> Integrated approach and partnerships. Social protection has the potential of 
addressing child labour in a holistic manner, implementing a comprehensive 
approach to address household vulnerability in the short and long term, and 
working in coherence and collaboration with key actors, such as those in 
education, protection, labour, social development and agriculture. Coordination 
among development agencies is particularly important to ensure there is no 
negative impact on children (e.g. making sure interventions are complementary 
and do not place an additional burden on families).
TO GO FURTHER  >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
FAO Information Note on social protection and child labour (forthcoming)
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
46 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
4.6 
Addressing child labour in crop production
A major issue in farming is the exposure of children to pesticides. Pesticide poisoning 
is especially harmful to children, because their body, brain and nervous systems are 
at critical stages of development. Because they are in a development stage, children 
have fewer natural defences and can develop serious health problems as a result 
of pesticide exposure9. For example, children have larger pores and can, therefore, 
absorb more chemicals into their bodies; their organs are also still developing, 
making exposure to toxins potentially more dangerous. For both biological and 
behavioural reasons, children are typically more vulnerable than adults to risks 
associated with pesticides. No child under 18 should be involved in the direct 
use of hazardous pesticides. Children can also be exposed to other health and 
safety risks, such as injuries related to sharp tools and machinery, back pains from 
long working hours (e.g. weeding), heavy work during land preparation, falls in 
unguarded wells and asphyxiation from working in grain solos or pits. 
 A P P R OAC H E S 
FAO places major emphasis on raising awareness on protecting children from 
pesticides and other OSH issues while simultaneously promoting safe and 
sustainable farming practices in order to improve productivity. Entry points 
and approaches include:
è Advocating for the need to protect children from pesticides. FAO 
works with partners to take into account children’s specific vulnerability in 
international conventions and codes in order to reduce their exposure to 
pesticides. For example, The FAO-WHO International Code of Conduct on 
Pesticide Management recognizes children as one of the vulnerable groups 
for pesticide exposure. The Code of Conduct is voluntary, but establishes a 
minimum international standard for monitoring the standards of governments 
and the pesticide industry. 
9 A recent study in Egypt on adolescents using hazardous pesticides in agriculture reported among the target 
group reduced lung function, neurobehavioural deficits, increased Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and 
changes in neurobehavioural outcomes (Rohlman et al., 2015).
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 47
48 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
©ILO
The 2013 revision of the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide 
Management widened the provisions regarding the protection of children 
from pesticide exposure. Other important binding conventions and non-
binding codes include:
• Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for 
Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.  
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) – including 
measures specifically targeting children (article 7 and article 10).
• Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of 
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. This Convention can contribute to 
reducing the exposure to toxic chemicals of children engaged in scavenging/
recycling activities or living on or near dumps rather than specifically 
influence child labour in agriculture.
• Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001 (No. 184) – the first 
international instrument that addresses the safety and health hazards faced 
by workers in agriculture in a comprehensive manner. Specific requirements 
on the sound management of chemicals can be found in articles 12 and 13.
Only through specific actions related to pesticide management, simultaneously 
carried out by governments, pesticide control boards, researchers, producer 
organizations and all actors involved, will it be possible to effectively reduce 
children’s exposure to pesticides. Awareness raising on this risk in the context 
of the Rotterdam Convention led to a better understanding of the issue and 
the need for collective action (Box 13). 
è Raising awareness at the community level. It is important to raise 
awareness on child labour among farmers and communities. This can be 
carried out, for example, through rural radio programmes, farmer listeners’ 
clubs (e.g. Dimitra Clubs) and farmer field schools. Extension agents and 
producer organizations have an important role to play and can be trained to 
provide advice to farmers to reduce health and safety hazards. For example, in 
Ghana, extension agents, as well as local facilitators, leaders of farmer groups 
and organizations, were trained on child labour, OSH, risks of hazardous 
pesticides and labour-saving technologies.
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 49
FAO has developed a series of knowledge materials on protecting children 
from pesticides:
• J FFLS visuals, posters and facilitator’s guide (FAO, 2010).
• e-learning course “Pesticide management and child labour prevention” 
(FAO, 2016c).
• Facilitators’ visual guide, Protect children from pesticides! (FAO and 
ILO, 2015) – with the technical and financial support of the Rotterdam 
Convention – used successfully in different settings to raise awareness 
and promote alternatives: Uganda (FAO, 2018e) and Guinee-Bissau 
(Vimeo, 2019). 
• Short visual story about the dangers of pesticides for younger, potentially 
illiterate children. Developed in Lebanon, it targets especially Syrian 
refugee children (FAO and ILO, 2017b).
è Promoting safe and sustainable farming practices. In order to reduce 
exposure of workers to pesticides and thus contribute to the reduction 
of hazardous child labour, farmers should be encouraged to control pests 
using IPM to decrease the use of pesticides and minimize environmental 
and health risks. For example, field schools that train farmers in alternative 
methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of 
toxic pesticides in a community of cotton growers in the Bla region of Mali, 
where FAO established a field school programme in 2003. Other farming 
practices promoted through conservation agriculture and agro-ecology have 
the potential to reduce child labour by decreasing labour requirements, 
reducing pesticide us and improving incomes of farmers. In the United 
Republic of Tanzania, the FAO conservation agriculture programme reported 
an increase in average maize yields from 1 tonne/ha to 6 tonnes/ha, without 
use of additional agrochemicals. Farmers have also been able to diversify 
into commercial crops, resulting in increased income generation and more 
balanced nutrition for their family, with a positive impact on food security. 
Farmers in both countries reported a significant reduction in labour demand 
at peak ploughing and planting times (FAO, 2012a). 
50 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
è Combining technologies and approaches. The System of Rice Intensification 
(SRI) can increase rice productivity while using smaller quantities of inputs 
(seeds, water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides). The result is increased 
yields and greater savings on inputs. But while SRI reduces the time spent 
on pesticide application and transplanting, it can increase the time spent on 
weeding. This can affect the demand for child labour, as weeding is often 
done by children. Therefore, combining SRI with alternative practices or 
technologies, such as simple mechanical weeders, can reduce the time 
needed for weeding and ensure maximum benefits for the household. Other 
labour-saving technologies (e.g. specialized tools for planting and weeding) 
or techniques (e.g. mulching) can save farmers’ time and energy, reducing the 
amount and type of work undertaken by children. Small-scale processing 
technologies (e.g. peanut shellers) also have the potential to reduce the work 
burden and free children’s time to attend school. Combining approaches, 
while also raising awareness in the community about child labour, can increase 
productivity of small-scale agriculture and create opportunities to move up 
the value chain or diversify income-generating activities. 
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
J Pesticide management and child labour prevention
FAO & ILO Pesticides visual facilitator’s guide produced in collaboration with the 
Rotterdam Convention (Rotterdam Convention, 2020) 
Ending child labour. The decisive role of agricultural stakeholders (FAO, 2017b)
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
Hazardous child labour: FAO’s contribution to protecting children from pesticide 
exposure (FAO, 2015f)
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 51
4.7 
Addressing child labour in capture fisheries  
and aquaculture
Fishing is one of the most dangerous occupational activities in the world. On a 
global scale, child labour is widespread in the sector, as fishers, fish farmers, and 
fishing and aquaculture communities are often poor and vulnerable. In certain 
cases, the depletion of fishery resources is the reason attributed to hiring children 
as workers and as a source of cheap labour (Mathew, 2010). 
Children engage in a wide variety of tasks in the fisheries and aquaculture 
sector, including fishing, pre-trip preparation, post-harvest activities (processing 
and marketing), feeding, guarding and harvesting fish in ponds and cages, 
boatbuilding as well as net making and mending. In line with adults’ gender 
roles in fisheries and aquaculture activities, boys tend to be more involved in 
fishing and girls in post-harvest activities. Occupational hazards exist in both 
categories (Ngajilo and Jeebhay, 2019; Watterson et al., 2019). Because of their 
developmental status, as well as their lack of skills compared to adults, children 
are more at risk than adults from safety and health hazards (2015f ).10  
 A P P R OAC H E S 
FAO aims to achieve a sustainable fisheries and aquaculture sector that accounts for 
economic, social and environmental matters. This includes contributing to decent 
employment in fisheries and aquaculture for all, and preventing child and forced 
labour, by building more knowledge on the subject, raising awareness on hazardous 
work in the sector, supporting the integration of child labour considerations in 
international instruments and guidelines, and contributing to compliance with 
these standards and guidelines. Entry points and approaches include:
è Ensuring child labour issues are taken into account in international 
fisheries instruments. Decent work and child labour considerations are 
included in some FAO guidelines related to fisheries and aquaculture. For 
example, the FAO 2011 Technical Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification 
10 For examples of common hazards in fisheries and aquaculture and potential health consequences, refer to FAO 
(2018d).
52 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
(FAO, 2011), established to guide the development, organization and 
implementation of credible aquaculture certification schemes, states that “child 
labour should not be used in a manner inconsistent with ILO Conventions 
and international standards”. The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing 
Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty 
Eradication (FAO, 2015c), endorsed in 2014 by the FAO Committee on 
Fisheries includes a chapter on social development, employment and decent 
work with explicit reference to child labour eradication. 
FAO cooperated with the ILO in the development of the Work in Fishing 
Convention, 2007 (No. 188) to improve working and living conditions at 
sea. The Convention sets standards for decent work on fishing vessels and 
establishes the minimum requirements to be enforced. The standards of the 
Convention can also play a preventative role in addressing unacceptable 
forms of work in the sector, including forced labour and child labour. 
Collaboration between FAO and the ILO is essential to strengthen the 
capacity and coordination between labour and fisheries authorities at the 
national level in the application of this Convention. In 2020, the ILO 
became a member of the Joint FAO/ILO/IMO Ad Hoc Working Group on 
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Related Matters. The FAO 
Committee on Fisheries Sub-Committee on Aquaculture discussed in 2015 
decent work issues in aquaculture, in particular child labour (FAO, 2015f ). 
New international guidelines are being developed to confront substandard 
working conditions in the seafood industry.
è Integrating child labour issues in fisheries policies. At the national 
level, FAO supports governments in the integration of child labour issues 
in national fisheries policies (Box 14).
è Protecting children from hazardous work through risk assessments and 
appropriate national hazardous work lists. Improving OSH in fisheries 
and aquaculture and reducing risks faced by young workers can help transform 
situations of child labour into decent employment opportunities. At the 
national level, FAO raises awareness on OSH in fisheries and aquaculture 
and conducts risk assessments with a focus on children’s vulnerabilities. Risks 
assessments can assist in preventing children being exposed to hazardous 
work and can be useful for governments in the process of developing or 
revising their national hazardous work lists (Box 15).
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 53
è Promoting technologies and practices to reduce the sector’s demand 
for child labour. The demand for child labour can be reduced by introducing 
technologies and practices that eliminate the need for children’s labour. This 
could include, for example, improved community infrastructure with regard 
to water supplies, as well as roads, transport and landing site arrangements, 
to avoid carrying heavy loads. In the informal economy, engagement of 
communities together with organizations of fishers, fish farmers, fish workers 
and employers, and other sectoral institutions is particularly important.
è Building knowledge on child labour in fisheries and aquaculture. 
More quantitative and qualitative information on child labour in fisheries 
and aquaculture is needed to understand its causes and consequences. Cost-
effective ways to improve basic information include:
• adapting and integrating aspects of child labour in fisheries and aquaculture 
into standard household and living standard measurement surveys through 
the introduction of sector modules or specific questions; and 
• ensuring sufficient data disaggregation in relevant surveys (all data should 
be disaggregated by age, by sex and profession/occupation). 
54 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
©ILO/P. Deloche
Building evidence is important for cross-sectoral capacity development in 
support of policy coherence; child labour concerns should be taken into 
account in fisheries and aquaculture policies and programmes, while the 
characteristics of fisheries and aquaculture need to be considered in child 
labour strategies. 
è Strengthening fisheries management and governance to offer long-term 
solutions. Low return on labour and decreasing income due to overfishing 
and overcapacity are underlying factors prompting fishers to cut corners off 
labour costs and look for cheap or free labour including child labour. There is 
a vicious circle between poverty, depletion of fisheries resources and the use 
of child labour. Decreasing incomes, along with poor enforcement capacity 
of fisheries administrations and weak management are also at the origin of 
the environmental and legal breaches in fisheries. A functioning management 
and governance of fisheries represents a comprehensive strategy to address 
some of the root causes of child labour and its worst forms, hazardous work 
and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Solid fisheries management 
– accompanied by solutions to address waste and loss in fisheries value 
chains, increase value addition strategies and promote access to markets – 
can support the economic viability in the sector and further soften the root 
causes of child labour. 
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
J Monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture
Guidance on addressing child labour in fisheries and aquaculture (FAO and ILO, 2013)
Eliminating child labour in fisheries and aquaculture – Promoting decent work and 
sustainable fish value chains (FAO, 2018f)
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 55
4.8 
Addressing child labour in livestock
Livestock keeping in developing countries has deep historical and cultural 
roots and the involvement of children can be very common. Both girls and 
boys typically start herding and caring for livestock at a very young age. Aside 
from herding, children are involved in feeding and cleaning (animals and 
sheds), collecting fodder and water, working with draught animals, and helping 
with processing. Worldwide, reports reveal that children work in poultry and 
other small livestock (on farms and in their homestead), dairy production, 
slaughterhouses and other meat processing operations, though information on 
the scale and areas of occurrence is extremely limited. 
Work conditions of children engaged in herding differ greatly across contexts. 
Children may herd either for an employer or for their families. Child herders 
working outside the household appear to be most vulnerable to exploitation 
and verbal/physical abuse by employers. Children can even run into debt when 
they are forced to compensate for lost cattle and destroyed crops. Particularly 
worrisome are situations where children are trapped in bonded labour or are 
trafficked to engage in herding in and outside of country borders (FAO, 2013a).
Children are more vulnerable than adults when exposed to the occupational 
hazards inherent in working with livestock. Health problems can be caused by 
working long hours in extreme weather conditions, poor sanitation and hygiene, 
contamination through manure handling, use of chemical products (e.g. veterinary 
drugs and disinfectant), exposure to harmful animal handling, highly biological 
and physical hazardous activities in slaughterhouses, inhalation of livestock 
dust and animal-to-human disease transmission (zoonoses). In addition, there 
is a high risk of injury when handling animals and sharp tools. Children may 
be bitten, kicked or stamped on, attacked by wild animals while herding, or 
develop musculoskeletal disorders. Boys mostly, but also girls, who guide oxen to 
plough the fields run the risk of being gored. In Mali, some communities have 
trained older oxen to do the ploughing, contributing to reduce the need for a 
child to walk in front of them. Long periods of isolation, fear of cattle raiders 
and punishment by employers, or overwhelming feelings of responsibility for 
the family capital can generate psychological stress that constitutes a major 
56 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
threat to the well-being of children. Herding activities are generally difficult 
to combine with education, because they occupy children for a large portion 
of the day. Migration can create additional obstacles in the absence of adapted 
services. Many herders are school dropouts and some have never been to school. 
Once out of school, children are less likely to return.
 A P P R OAC H E S 
FAO aims to raise awareness and build knowledge on child labour in the livestock 
sector and support governments and partners in addressing the issue through its 
ongoing work on livestock (FAO, 2013a). Entry points and approaches include:
è Contributing to reduce the knowledge gap on child labour in the livestock 
sector by supporting research initiatives on the issue and advising national 
governments in the development of key child labour-related indicators to be 
included in national surveys and censuses. The precise extent of child labour 
in livestock is not easy to establish due to a lack of data disaggregated by 
subsector. This informational deficit makes it much more difficult to design 
effective policies and programmes to address child labour in agriculture, 
including in livestock. 
EAS providers working with herders could contribute to relay and collect 
information on child labour in the livestock sector.
è Building awareness, shifting behavioural changes and enhancing 
capacity on OSH at the national and local levels with relevant stakeholders 
by linking FAO’s work on improving health and welfare of working animals 
(transport and traction) (FAO, 2014d) with child labour. 
è Collaborating with government bodies and partners to support the 
development and implementation of pastoralist-smart education 
systems, with primary (and secondary) school curricula that are relevant to 
the rural and agricultural context and pastoralist societies and can promote 
decent rural employment. The links between livestock and education are 
key to sustainable livestock development and to poverty reduction. If the 
eff¬iciency of livestock production systems is improved (e.g. through improved 
livestock practices and management), the children of poor, livestock-dependent 
households can be freed from child labour and gain better access to education 
(FAO, 2018g) (Box 16).
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 57
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
J Monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture
Child labour and education in pastoralist communities in South Sudan (ILO, 2013)
Children’s work in the livestock sector: herding and beyond (FAO, 2013a)
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
4.9 
Addressing child labour in forestry
Child labour in forestry is thought to be widespread, although this is the agricultural 
sector with the least data, with the exception of forestry plantations. One of the 
reasons for this data gap is that most reports do not distinguish forestry activities 
from other agricultural activities, in addition to the fact that forestry activities may 
be conducted in an informal, and sometimes illegal, way. Forestry activities often 
take place in remote areas and sometimes in temporary and shifting locations. 
The isolating situation increases the vulnerability to exploitation, making the 
application of labour standards, trade union representation and community 
support difficult. Children may be involved in a wide range of hazardous tasks, 
such as climbing trees for harvesting fruits and spices, cutting rubber, planting 
and logging, as well as in nursery and silvicultural work involving exposure to 
chemicals. They may be involved in illegal logging activities, thus contributing 
unwillingly to environmentally damaging activities and exposing themselves 
to further hazards and abuse.
In 2018, FAO undertook an initial scoping study on child labour in forestry. 
The study, based on a survey among FAO staff and a literature review, indicates 
that children are engaged in different forest-related activities depending on 
their age, with potential exposure to hazardous work and the likelihood of 
disrupting schooling. Initial results of the survey indicate that children from 
the 5–11 age group were observed in most forest-related activities, particularly 
in the collection of non-wood forest products (NWFPs), but not in logging. 
58 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
Those aged 12–13 were observed in all activities, but mainly in the collection 
of NWFPs and firewood gathering, while older children (14–17) were largely 
engaged in logging, nursery work and planting. Observations and feedback 
related to industrial forestry were very limited. One of the main conclusions 
of the scoping study is the need for more research to better understand the 
engagement of children in the forestry sector in different regions.
One of the most recent and relevant knowledge products on the sector is an ILO 
report for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region 
in Africa (ILO, 2014) which shows that in Burkina Faso, 34.7 percent of the total 
workforce in forestry/logging comprises children in the 5–14-year age group, while 
in Guinea, the same age group accounts for 36.5 percent. A study in Paraguay 
(ILO, 2016), shows that the forestry sector employs 4.4 percent of children and 
adolescents in child labour for the production of eucalyptus and the exploitation 
of wood, involving the collection, loading and transportation of firewood on foot.
 A P P R OAC H E S 
FAO aims to raise awareness and build knowledge on child labour in the forestry 
sector and support governments and partners in addressing the issue through 
its ongoing work on forestry. Entry points and approaches include:
è Supporting governments in the application of the Voluntary guidelines 
on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests 
in the context of national food security (FAO, 2012b). The Guidelines state 
that responsible investments should contribute to preventing situations of 
child labour, including due to debt bondage on forestry estates and industrial 
logging concessions. 
In the context of supporting sustainable and inclusive development of the 
forestry sector, child labour should be taken into account in certification 
processes of forest products, and integrated into relevant guidelines for forestry 
such as those of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO, 
2020). Guidelines and standards should also be strengthened for NWFPs.
è Building awareness and capacity on OSH at the national and local 
levels. FAO can collaborate with relevant partners such as the ILO to build 
capacity of extension agents on risk assessment methodologies to identify 
existing hazards, feasible alternatives and mitigation strategies, and to raise 
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 59
awareness on child labour among agricultural stakeholders (local forestry 
stakeholders, including producers, cooperatives and workers), supporting 
their participation in local child labour monitoring systems. 
è Supporting governments and national forestry stakeholders in raising 
awareness and increasing application of relevant requirements around 
child labour enshrined in national legislation. FAO can collaborate with 
stakeholders at all levels to build capacity around the application of current 
legislation, including awareness of requirements and understanding barriers 
and opportunities for improved compliance (FAO, 2018h). 
è Reducing the knowledge gap in child labour in the forestry sector by 
supporting the integration of key child labour-related indicators in forestry-
related programmes and undertaking studies in cooperation with partners. 
è Improving working conditions for forest workers, especially the most 
vulnerable, such as contractors, migrants, women and youth can help decrease 
the engagement of children. This can translate into adopting safer work practices, 
ensuring access to social protection for formal and informal workers, and 
guaranteeing more secure and stable contracts, all of which can help increase 
productivity and stabilize access to nutrient‐rich and diverse diets (FAO, 2020c).
è Increasing opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment in 
forestry while avoiding deforestation and forest degradation. This 
requires: removal of constraints (e.g. insecure tenure rights); promotion of 
the participation of small‐scale forest producers in market‐oriented activities 
in agroforestry, tree‐growing, small‐scale wood processing and provision of 
ecosystem services; and increased opportunities for green jobs.
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
J Monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture
Promoting decent employment in forestry for improved nutrition and food security 
(FAO, 2013b)
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
60 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 61
©FAO/Riccardo Gangale
4.10  
Promoting socially sustainable  
agricultural value chains
Child labour is mostly found in the lower tier of agricultural value chains and in 
informal settings, making it more complex to apprehend. But child labourers can 
also be found at all stages of agricultural supply chains, affecting children, the 
reputation of enterprises, and rural and agricultural development. An increasing 
number of countries in Europe are adopting due diligence legislation11 with 
clear provisions on child labour, while in 2019, the European Commission 
pledged zero tolerance towards child labour in European Union trade policy. 
In this context, every actor along the agricultural supply chain, from farmers, 
to traders, investors and consumers, has a critical role to play. Eliminating child 
labour should be an integral part of how business is conducted and how crops 
and other products are produced.
As explained in section 3.2, international instruments have been developed 
to provide guidance in advancing the agenda of responsible and sustainable 
agricultural value chains and food systems. 
The UN Global Compact Food and Agriculture Business Principles (UN Global 
Compact, 2014) provide a voluntary framework to advance the positive impact 
business can have on food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture and to 
engage in principle-based collaboration with the UN, governments, civil society 
and other stakeholders. One of the Principles reiterates businesses “responsibilities 
to respect human rights, create decent work and help communities”. 
Finally, with increased consumer awareness, voluntary standards and private 
sector codes are another tool that can be used to address child labour (e.g. 
certification schemes such as Fairtrade and GLOBALG.A.P). The development 
of technologies such as blockchains, which ensure the traceability of products 
throughout the value chain, can be useful to uncover cases of child labour and 
incentivize companies to take action. 
11 See French Duty of Vigilance Law definitely adopted in 2017, and the Dutch Child Labour Due Diligence Bill 
voted by Dutch Parliament in May 2019.
62 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
 A P P R OAC H E S 
FAO is working to make agricultural value chains more sustainable (economically, 
environmentally and socially) and more inclusive by increasing opportunities for 
smallholders to engage and promoting the elimination of child labour. Entry 
points and approaches include:
è Raising awareness and developing capacity of agricultural stakeholders. 
This may include raising awareness and developing capacity on hazardous 
work and promoting alternative agricultural practices, facilitating multi-
stakeholder dialogues and developing guidance around business strategies 
to end child labour in agriculture. FAO and the ILO have jointly developed 
a series of e-learning courses to help practitioners in the agricultural sector 
with knowledge and practice guidance on concrete actions to end child labour 
in agriculture. Particularly relevant to those working on agricultural supply 
chains is the course: Business strategies and public–private partnerships to 
end child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2016d). This course presents a number 
of business-oriented strategies to reduce child labour in agricultural supply 
chains, including in crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture. 
Public–private partnerships can directly address child labour by supporting 
education, increasing productivity and raising awareness. 
è Providing guidance on appropriate contractual arrangements. Fair 
contract farming principles can help farmers break down barriers to entry 
into markets and facilitate access to credit and capital, thereby stabilizing 
the incomes of farmers and increasing their profits. Fair contracts can have 
an important role to play in fostering decent rural employment practices, 
including the ending of child labour.12 EAS providers should be capacitated 
to link producers to such services and to provide guidance to them on 
fair contract conditions, as well as strengthen their negotiation skills. The 
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT)/
FAO/IFAD Legal Guide on Contract Farming (UNIDROIT, FAO and 
IFAD, 2015) provides advice and guidance on the entire relationship, from 
negotiation to conclusion. It specifically states that responsible contract 
farming arrangements can represent an important instrument for promoting 
12 For more information on the benefits of contract farming: http://www.fao.org/in-action/contract-farming/en
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 63
sustainable agriculture, and better and safer agricultural practices to reduce 
hazardous work, as well as labour-saving practices and technologies that 
reduce dependence on child labour. 
è Integrating child labour concerns in value chain development programmes 
and inclusive business practices. This can happen through the promotion 
of decent youth employment with special attention to include youth aged 
15–17. It is important to integrate key indicators related to child labour 
in the monitoring and evaluation framework of value chain development 
interventions, and collaborate with partners and actors along the value chain 
– both small-scale producers and multinational companies – to prevent or 
take actions to eliminate child labour. 
è Integrating decent work dimensions in distributed ledger or blockchain 
technologies. FAO has the opportunity to extend its technical expertise in 
agriculture and work together with other organizations to include decent 
work – including child labour-related – dimensions in blockchain technology 
used to improve traceability along agricultural value chains. Blockchain 
technology provides transparency and traceability that can incentivize supply 
chains to be child labour-free (Box 17). 
TO GO FURTHER >>> 
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
J Business strategies and public-private partnerships to end child labour in agriculture
J Monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
64 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
4.11  
Reducing risks and vulnerabilities in the  
context of protracted crisis, food chain crisis 
and natural hazards 
One in four children grow up in areas affected by conflict or natural hazards 
(FAO, 2017a). Fragile economic existences, food insecurity, widespread damage, 
extensive violence, forced displacement, prolonged humanitarian responses, and 
significant protection and security risks all contribute to children’s vulnerability. 
Children might be drawn into child labour – for example, to repay the debt of 
their guardians – and be exposed to several forms of abuse while at work and on 
their way to work. Increase in gender-based violence may further exacerbate the 
severity of child labour situations. Moreover, the tasks children were performing, 
or the subsectors of agriculture they were engaged in, prior to a conflict may 
become more dangerous (e.g. more difficult access to natural resources and 
exposure to risks such as unexploded ordinances and explosive remnants of war).
Situations of encampment with restricted mobility and limited access to basic 
services and natural resources may increase unregulated and informal work for 
children, as they support household food security and income. The need to seek 
alternative sources of food and water for their livestock due to conflict over 
resources can increase the exposure of pastoralist children to violence. Children 
sent from camps to collect water, wood and fuel are also at risk of violence and 
abuse and of dangers related to natural events or wild animals.
The change in prevalence and forms of child labour after natural disasters is not 
always consistent between contexts. Where families already depend on children’s 
income, unemployment can place them at increased risk of unsafe migration 
and trafficking in search of work. Massive reconstruction efforts that follow 
natural disasters can create additional types of child labour and pull children 
into inappropriate reconstruction, extraction or processing activities.
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 65
 A P P R OAC H E S 
PREPAREDNESS Understand whether child labour would be a problem if an emergency  
PHASE 0 were to affect agricultural communities.
FIRST 2 WEEKS Identify any immediate indications that child labour is a considerable 
PHASE 1 & 2 concern in agricultural communities following an emergency.
WEEKS 4 TO 8 Understand how the situation has changed and  
PHASE 3 continues to change.
6 TO 12 MONTHS Collect data to identify the impact of economic shock on families  
PHASE 4 and their livelihood coping mechanisms and child labour.
Agriculture and food security programmes as life-saving interventions, like 
other interventions, can have potentially both positive and negative effects on 
children. Integrating child labour concerns in those interventions is important 
to prevent or mitigate exposing children to harmful situations. Entry points 
and approaches include: 
è Gathering information on child labour issues during needs assessment. 
FAO has adopted a five-phase assessment approach to align with the framework 
of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee and to identify specific tools to 
be used in each phase. Child labour concerns should be integrated into each 
step of the assessment, including pre-assessment training and briefings. 
è Targeting and integrating child labour-sensitive activities in the design 
and implementation of food security and agricultural programmes:
• Based on the data collected during the assessment phase, profile and identify 
families with high levels of vulnerability that may resort to child labour as a 
coping strategy, carefully considering the role of gender, age and disability. 
• Provide safe work opportunities for caregivers and children of working 
age, whose families are vulnerable to child labour. For children who are 
above the minimum working age and below the age of 18, access to safe 
and decent work is crucial and can help alleviate financial difficulties 
experienced by families who are displaced and/or recovering from a crisis. 
For example, reserve a percentage of places in recovery and rehabilitation 
programmes and provide financial education to adolescents (consider that 
boys and girls are likely to require different provisions to participate safely 
and equitably).
66 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
> > > >
• Integrate and combine strategies with other partners and sectors (e.g. 
between food security, education and protection clusters and working 
groups) to address child labour in agriculture. Where possible, create 
flexible and ongoing pathways for targeting and inclusion in programmes, 
so that households identified through other sector programmes, such as 
child protection or education, can be referred for support and included in 
case management mechanisms (Box 18).
è Carrying out monitoring and evaluation is key. In cases of crisis, programmes 
must be monitored regularly to ensure that any risks faced by children as a 
result of the emergency or response are identified and mitigated at an early 
stage. This entails including indicators to monitor the implementation of 
programme activities related to child labour (e.g. inclusion of child labour in 
trainings, use of age verification techniques and understanding of child labour 
by programme staff and partners, number of producers and communities 
reached by awareness-raising activities on child labour in agriculture, number 
of youth under 18 included in programme activities) (Box 19).
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
J Monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture
Child labour in agriculture in protracted crises, fragile and humanitarian contexts 
(FAO, 2017a)
Handbook for monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2015b)
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 67
4.12  
Reducing risks and vulnerabilities  
in the context of climate change and 
environmental degradation 
Climate change threatens global food security and the ability of countries to 
eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development. It affects in particular 
rural populations in the poorest countries that rely on natural resources and are 
subject to changing rainfall patterns, unpredictable weather events, sudden natural 
disasters etc. In the same vein, environmental degradation leads to droughts, floods, 
failing crops and soil erosion. Resulting in higher food prices, food insecurity, 
strained natural resources, economic vulnerabilities and potential migration. 
Climate- and environment-related disasters have disproportionate impacts on 
children and young people, especially in rural and marginalized communities. 
WHO estimates that 26 percent of the annual 6.6 million deaths of children 
under 5 are linked to environment-related causes and conditions (Terre des 
Hommes, 2017). According to UNICEF, over the next two decades, between 
37.5 and 125 million African children will be subjected to water scarcity, and by 
2050 an estimated 25 million more children will be undernourished as a result 
of climate change. While more research needs to be done, the link between the 
degradation of environmental conditions and child labour is undeniable. The 
impacts of climate change exacerbate one of the root causes of child labour: 
poverty. This causes children to start work, to work in unsafe conditions or 
undertake illicit activities contributing to further environmental damage, or 
to migrate for work. Extreme and sudden climate events may compel people 
to migrate. Migration induced by such circumstances has been identified as a 
key factor in stopping children from attending school. Children are also the 
youth of tomorrow. Reducing risks and vulnerabilities for children increases 
their chance of becoming young people with the skills and abilities to deal 
with climate change.13 
13 See for instance the involvement of youth in UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 (UN Environment 
Programme, 2019).
68 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
 A P P R OAC H E S 
By integrating a child labour lens into its support to countries facing climate 
change and environmental degradation to provide a roadmap for the transition 
to the green economy in the countries’ rural economic sectors and agri-food 
value chains, FAO can better assess how climate change and environmental 
degradation affect children in rural areas. FAO can guide countries to reduce 
children’s vulnerability and lower the risks of resorting to child labour as coping 
strategies. Interventions may also provide opportunities for older children to 
increase their skills and engage in climate-smart agriculture activities. Entry 
points and approaches include:
è Including a child’s lens in risks and vulnerability assessments – for 
example using resilience index measurement and analysis to inform policies 
and programmes. This will increase the understanding of levels of vulnerability 
of families and children faced with, for example, loss of livelihoods due to 
drought, desertification, deforestation, and pollution of soils and water, and 
help to understand how they (adults and children) cope with shocks and 
stressors. Services for children and infrastructure in disaster-prone areas need 
to be strengthened to reach the most vulnerable; access for all needs to be 
sustained despite environmental shocks and stresses (Diwakar et al., 2019). 
This can inform strategies for adaption to climate change for most vulnerable 
households (e.g. by integrating the creation of alternative employment 
opportunities for adults as an integral relief component).
è Strengthening synergies among child labour prevention, environmental 
sustainability and climate resilience. Many of the unsustainable, hazardous 
practices in agriculture disproportionately impact children, but also degrade 
the natural resources and ecosystems on which agriculture relies. By providing 
an alternative to child labour through green, sustainable technologies and 
practices in agricultural sectors and its value chains, climate resilience can 
be strengthened while increasing countries’ capacity in the transition to the 
green economy. An integrated approach increases the coherence between 
policies and interventions that deal with the protection of the environment, 
climate change and disaster risk management, as well as child protection. 
F A O  A R E A S  O F  W O R K  O N  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U L T U R E 69
è Providing children and young people with knowledge about the impacts 
of climate change, environmental degradation, and possible solutions. 
The Youth and United Nations Global Alliance (YUNGA), hosted by FAO 
(FAO, 2020d), brings together UN agencies, government institutions, civil 
society organizations and other groups that work with children and young 
people to develop their capacities. The activities of the Alliance’s members 
are intended to help boys and girls and young men and women care for and 
conserve the environment, natural resources, and biodiversity, while addressing 
a range of social issues. FAO developed a facilitator’s guide focused on climate 
change for the JFFLS (FAO, 2015h). 
è Engaging through advocacy in climate change and green economy 
platforms. FAO, UNICEF and the United Nations Framework Convention 
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have advocated for giving youth organizations 
observer status in UNFCCC negotiations. In 2009, these efforts contributed 
to the formal recognition of YOUNGO as the official children and youth 
constituency to the UNFCCC (FAO, 2019e). The initiative of the UNFCCC 
Secretariat, “Action for Climate Empowerment”, initiative is the focus of 
Article 6 related to education, training, public awareness, public participation, 
public access to information and international cooperation. This initiative 
can be an entry point to raise awareness on the vulnerabilities of children, 
in particular those living in rural areas and affected by climate change.
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Addressing child labour in agricultural programmes
J Monitoring and evaluation of child labour in agriculture
Climate change. Junior Farmer Field and Life School – Facilitator’s guide (FAO, 2015h)
Youth in motion for climate action! A compilation of youth initiatives in agriculture 
to address the impacts of climate change (FAO, 2019e)
Youth and United Nations Global Alliance (YUNGA) website (FAO, 2020d)
70 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
5
KEY STRATEGIES FOR 
ENGAGEMENT 
71
©FAO
All projects and programmes developed by FAO require the application of 
environmental and social safeguards in order to prevent and mitigate undue 
harm to people and their environment from project design and stakeholder 
engagement, to project implementation and exit. This is also a requirement of 
international financing institutions involved in funding agriculture and rural 
development when screening new potential investments. 
The process of applying safeguard measures in relation to child labour prevention 
can be an important opportunity for stakeholder engagement, enhancing the 
quality and effectiveness of project proposals. When identifying and designing a 
project, safeguards should help assess the possible risks and the impacts (positive 
or negative) on child labour associated with a development or humanitarian 
intervention. During project implementation, those safeguards should help 
define measures and processes to mitigate risks and enhance positive impacts. 
A SHORT GUIDE TO TYPICAL ESTABLISHED MECHANISMS, 
LEGISLATIONS AND POLICIES ON CHILD LABOUR
> Anti-child labour legislation belongs to labour law and typically sets the 
national minimum age for employment, comprises the list of hazardous work 
forbidden to youth under 18, and potentially includes a list of admissible 
light work tasks; minimum age and hazardous work legislation is available 
in most countries.
> The ministry of labour usually heads national committees against child labour.
> National Action Plans on child labour elimination are the main policy 
document on child labour and exist in most developing countries; they are 
elaborated with the support of the ILO.
> The ILO supports countries to collect data on child labour per sector (but 
rarely per subsector) through national child labour surveys.
> In crisis and protracted crisis situations, child labour falls mostly under the 
responsibility of the protection (child protection) cluster.
Note: Agricultural stakeholders are still too rarely associated with these typical mechanisms, legislative 
processes and policies.
72 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
The FAO guidelines on environmental and social management (FAO, 2015i) 
in Environmental and Social Standard 7 (under revision) provide guidance 
to promote the application of international labour standards, including the 
prevention and elimination of child labour in agriculture. 
In addition, the FAO handbook for monitoring and evaluation in child labour 
(FAO, 2015b) includes useful tools to assess programmes and integrate the 
child labour topic at each stage of the programme cycle, from needs assessment, 
targeting and planning, to implementation, monitoring, adaptation and evaluation. 
FAO’s strategies for engagement on child labour are also aligned with the 
Organization’s core functions, namely, knowledge generation, policy advice, 
capacity development, advocacy and outreach.
The overarching goal is to complement efficiently the action on child labour of 
other organizations and sectors at the global, regional and local levels. 
5.1 
Knowledge generation 
Data and research on child labour in agriculture and on viable alternatives are 
essential to inform policy and programmes. Several regional and local studies 
on child labour in the various subsectors of agriculture have already been 
commissioned by FAO (FAO and ILO, 2019; League of Arab States, ILO and 
FAO, 2019). More disaggregated data and information are needed to better 
tailor interventions. 
> Assess availability and quality of data and information sources that could 
contain information on child labour in agriculture (FAO, 2019f ). When 
available data are not sufficient, support data collection on child labour in 
agriculture, for example, by identifying statistical indicators for data collection 
and integrating child labour questions into regular data collection activities (e.g. 
labour force surveys, population and household-based censuses, agricultural 
censuses and surveys) and research proposals (e.g. include child labour concerns 
in the development of technologies and impact assessments). Data on child 
labour are sensitive data, and the term “child labour” is almost never used in 
a survey. Instead, data are gathered indirectly – collecting information on 
K E Y  S T R AT E G I E S  F O R  E N G A G E M E N T 73
activities carried out by children, the nature and duration of the activities, 
and the circumstances in which they are undertaken. On this basis, it can 
be determined whether or not child labour is present. The choice of survey 
respondent (adult or child, male or female) and the time of the year vis-à-vis 
the agricultural calendar can also affect the results. The ILO has produced 
checklists that can be used before, during and after research (ILO, 2003).
> Generate knowledge on child labour in agriculture. FAO undertakes specific 
research activities (qualitative and quantitative) to gain more knowledge on 
child labour in particular sectors, regions and value chains. The knowledge 
produced by this research is useful to raise awareness, and to inform the 
design of policies and programmes to address child labour issues in a more 
effective manner. For example, the research on child labour in the rice and 
cotton value chains in Mali was used to build knowledge on the situation 
and alternatives and to develop recommendations for a roadmap to reduce 
child labour in agriculture. Research in the coffee sector in Huehuetenango, 
Guatemala, provided valuable information for understanding the underlying 
causes of child labour in that sector, and thus for identifying strategies and 
partnerships needed to address the issue and to inform policy. The information 
generated could also help to address important knowledge gaps about child 
labour in relation to malnutrition and food insecurity (e.g. whether children 
working suffer more from malnutrition because of physical strain) or assess 
comprehensively the positive effects on child labour reduction that could 
be generated by adopting improved labour-saving practices, introducing 
mechanization and promoting post-harvest technologies. Further documentation 
is necessary in order to improve action on the ground.
5.2  
Monitoring and evaluation 
The inclusion of child labour in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks 
can help to determine at an early stage whether agricultural, food security and 
nutrition programmes have an effect on the child labour situation, and whether 
they should take preventive and corrective action. By considering the child labour 
topic in an M&E framework, it is also possible to document good practices 
and positive changes in children’s lives during the programme duration and 
74 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
to promote these practices. The inclusion of indicators and questions on child 
labour in the M&E system of FAO programmes is an important strategy to 
stimulate significant positive changes
FAO developed a handbook for the monitoring and evaluation of child labour in 
agriculture, offering guidance and tools for assessing the impacts of agricultural 
and food security programmes and projects on child labour in family-based 
agriculture (FAO, 2015b).
Avenues and guidance for FAO programmes to integrate child labour considerations 
include:
> Inclusive assessments considering age and gender. During assessments 
and programme design, pay attention to the situation of children, existing 
situations of child labour and potential risks due to vulnerabilities or poverty 
levels, and identify the needs for different age groups, sex groups, and types 
of employment. If possible, try to access a baseline value on the school 
enrolment rate.
> Monitoring impacts. Formulate indicators to assess the impact of the 
interventions on child labour; there is no standard list of child labour indicators 
adapted to all situations. Indicators must be specific to the programme 
context and need to be selected on the basis of the child labour dynamics 
in the different agricultural subsectors. Ultimately and where possible, any 
data collected needs be disaggregated by age (considering the minimum age 
for employment as a possible threshold) and sex. In certain circumstances, it 
may be useful to organize unplanned visits to field sites to ensure children 
are not engaging in hazardous work or being out of school as a consequence 
of the intervention. 
5.3 
Policy advice
Provisions relating to eliminating child labour in agriculture can be found in a 
number of Conventions, guidelines and instruments. Some tackle child labour 
in general: Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Worst Forms of Child 
Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182); the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 
K E Y  S T R AT E G I E S  F O R  E N G A G E M E N T 75
(No. 138). Others are specifically relevant to child labour in agriculture: the Work 
in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188); the Safety and Health in Agriculture 
Convention, 2001 (No. 184); FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; 
and the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management.
For the elimination of child labour in agriculture, issues relating to agriculture 
and rural areas must be adequately covered in different policies, strategies and 
programmes. 
FAO can provide support in terms of the following:
> Assessing policies and legislation to identify gaps in relation to the 
agricultural sector (e.g. age for compulsory school and legal working age, 
including agriculture-related hazardous tasks in the national hazardous 
lists). Also, assessing agricultural policies in order to establish entry points 
for accelerating action against child labour in agriculture. It is important to 
ensure that all relevant stakeholders are consulted in this process (Box 20).
> Facilitating collaboration between labour and agricultural stakeholders, 
through inter-ministerial groups or national committees on child labour, 
but also at the district and local levels, ensuring that all stakeholders are 
included in policy dialogues and processes, in particular those representing 
rural communities, women and men, and youth, rural organizations and 
cooperatives.
> Enhancing policy coherence and advising on the adoption of an integrated 
approach to the elimination of child labour in agriculture. Also identifying 
synergies among relevant policy areas such as education and training, social 
protection, decent work for youth and adults, and sustainable agriculture 
and rural development (Box 21).
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Engaging stakeholders to end child labour in agriculture
J Incorporating child labour in policies and strategies
76 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
K E Y  S T R AT E G I E S  F O R  E N G A G E M E N T 77
©FAO
5.4 
Capacity development 
For the sustainable elimination of child labour in agriculture, all stakeholders 
must be on board, sensitized and better equipped, with a clear understanding of 
the difference between child labour and tasks that are acceptable for children, 
and of good practices to address the issue.
FAO can provide support in terms of the following:
> Identifying capacity development needs on child labour for agricultural 
stakeholders. Depending on the specific needs, an assessment of capacity 
needs may focus on a specific value chain or on farming, livestock, forestry 
or fisheries, and consider different stakeholders at the national, regional and 
local levels. Assessments may be done through consultative workshops on 
decent rural employment or stakeholder surveys. 
> Designing and facilitating capacity development interventions. FAO 
delivers national and regional workshops and training courses, bringing 
together labour and agricultural, national and local stakeholders to: ensure 
a common understanding of child labour in agriculture (e.g. age-appropriate 
work for children above and below the minimum legal age; child labour 
and hazardous work); inform how to analyse potentially negative impacts 
of programmes on children; and identify entry points to tackle child labour. 
FAO in collaboration with the ILO designed a series of e-learning courses 
on child labour in agriculture, available online (FAO, 2016a). 
> Scaling up capacity development interventions and institutionalizing 
prevention and reduction of child labour in agriculture by: 
– mainstreaming child labour concerns in existing capacity development 
activities (e.g. including a session on child labour in training colleges or 
refresher training courses for labour inspectors, public or private extension 
and advice providers, FFS facilitators, incorporating the issue in local group 
discussions using for example the Dimitra Clubs to improve community 
awareness, increase buy-in and take concrete measures);
– integrating capacity development on child labour prevention and reduction 
as a specific component in national agriculture, rural development and 
poverty reduction programmes;
78 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
– making use of existing networks and affiliations to reach a larger audience (e.g. 
giving a presentation on child labour in agriculture at the general assembly 
meeting of an umbrella organization for producer organizations); and
– partnering with other organizations (e.g. the collaboration between FAO 
and the ILO within the framework of the IPCCLA has been instrumental 
in scaling up actions and promoting a holistic approach to addressing 
child labour in agriculture).
> Communicating effectively on child labour in agriculture. FAO has developed 
a series of educational and communication tools to advocate addressing child 
labour in agriculture and rural supply chains (FAO, 2019g). The choice of 
tools and messages will depend on the target audience (pictures and cartoons 
for parents and communities, policy briefs for government officials). 
5.5 
Reaching scale  
FAO recognizes that specific programmes targeting children will not be enough 
to prevent all forms of child labour. It will have to come from broader food 
security and agricultural and rural development programmes that lift people 
out of poverty. The link between the rise of child labour in agriculture and 
the increase in conflicts and climate-induced disasters also requires that FAO 
programmes related to emergency and climate take into account this issue.
Such programmes are not child labour neutral; they have immense potential to 
address decent work and child labour issues. In order to maximize the potential 
of these programmes to eliminate child labour, FAO can provide support in 
terms of the following:
> Integrating decent work and child labour issues in the design of large-scale 
and investment programmes in agriculture, supply chains, rural development 
and food security and nutrition – taking into account harder-to-reach child 
labour situations in agriculture such as local and regional value chains and 
family-based agriculture. This includes providing technical assistance on the 
topic of child labour in agriculture when designing investment programmes 
with partners such as the ILO and IFAD and other development and 
financial organizations.
K E Y  S T R AT E G I E S  F O R  E N G A G E M E N T 79
> Improving capacities for effective dialogue and collective action by sharing 
information and analysis of decent work and child labour in agriculture 
within existing multi-sector and multi-actor platforms and spaces (hosted, 
chaired or facilitated by FAO), and providing guidance for programmes 
and investments to prevent child labour. Platforms and spaces may include:
– FAO inter-divisional working groups on sustainable value chains and 
responsible agricultural investment;
– governing and statutory bodies (e.g. technical committees on agriculture, 
fisheries, forestry, Advisory Committee on Sustainable Forest-based 
Industries, International Commission on Poplars and Other Fast-Growing 
Trees Sustaining People and the Environment);
– Committee on World Food Security; and
– Rotterdam Convention.
By using its influence in governance mechanisms around agriculture, rural 
development and food security and nutrition, FAO is in a privileged position 
to play an integrative role bringing together member countries, development 
partners and private industries to contribute to the elimination of child labour 
in agriculture (Box 22).
80 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
5.6 
Promotion of advocacy and partnerships
Partnerships and international development cooperation remain critical to eliminate 
all forms of child labour. FAO cannot act alone; it fosters close collaboration 
with a range of organizations to address child labour issues in different contexts, 
in particular with the ILO on OSH issues and the promotion of decent rural 
employment. Since 2007, FAO has been a member of the International Partnership 
of Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture (IPCCLA) (IPCCLA, 2007), 
to increase collaboration and cooperation among agricultural stakeholders and 
also with other key stakeholders (e.g. labour, education). 
FAO also supports the Alliance 8.7 – a global partnership to end forced labour, 
modern slavery, human trafficking and all forms of child labour in accordance with 
SDG Target 8.7 – launched in 2016 as a vehicle to promote active collaboration 
and leverage expertise across a wide range of like-minded stakeholders. 
FAO engages in major international initiatives, including the World Day Against 
Child Labour, to raise awareness on priority areas of action to eradicate child labour 
in agriculture. In 2018, after the announcement by the ILO that child labour in 
agriculture had started to rise again, FAO launched a communication campaign. 
To achieve #ZEROHUNGER, we must have ZERO CHILD LABOUR.
To mark the 2019 World Day against Child Labour, FAO, the European Union 
and the ILO joined forces to organize the conference “United to End Child 
Labour in Agriculture”. On this occasion, FAO urged nations to pay greater 
attention and allocate more financial resources to addressing child labour in 
domestic and local food supply chains and in subsistence farming where the 
vast majority of child labour in agriculture occurs.
TO GO FURTHER >>>
FAO and ILO e-learning courses (FAO, 2016a):
J Engaging stakeholders to end child labour in agriculture
J Incorporating child labour in policies and strategies
K E Y  S T R AT E G I E S  F O R  E N G A G E M E N T 81
82 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
©ILO/M. Crozet
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In: FAO elearning Academy [online]. Rome.  
https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=299
FAO. 2016. Business strategies and public-private partnerships to end child 
labour in agriculture. In: FAO elearning Academy [online]. Rome.  
https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=300
FAO. 2018. Promoting youth employment and reducing child labour in 
agriculture. In: FAO elearning Academy [online]. Rome.  
https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=389
FAO. 2019. Introduction to child labour in agriculture. Lesson 3 hazardous 
work and agriculture. In: FAO elearning Academy [online]. Rome.  
https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=507
FAO. 2019. Communicating effectively to end child labour in agriculture.  
In: FAO elearning Academy [online]. Rome.  
https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=513
FAO. 2019. Using data and knowledge to end child labour in agriculture.  
In: FAO elearning Academy [online]. Rome.  
https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=509
FAO. 2019. Engaging stakeholders to end child labour in agriculture.  
In: FAO elearning Academy [online]. Rome.  
https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=508
FAO. 2019. Incorporating child labour in policies and strategies.  
In: FAO elearning Academy [online]. Rome.  
https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=510
R E F E R E N C E S 91
FAO RESOURCES  
ON CHILD LABOUR  
IN AGRICULTURE
FAO  
Knowledge 
products  
on  
child labour  
in agriculture
92 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
FAO  
Infographics  
on  
Child Labour  
in Agriculture
R E F E R E N C E S 93
FAO & ILO  
Pesticides Visual Tools
In collaboration with  
Rotterdam Convention
www.fao.org/3/a-i4598s.pdf
www.fao.org/3/a-i3527f.pdf www.fao.org/3/b-i4598o.pdf
www.fao.org/3/a-i3527e.pdf www.fao.org/3/a-i4598e.pdf
www.fao.org/3/a-i3527o.pdf
www.fao.org/3/a-i4716r.pdf
www.fao.org/3/b-i3527a.pdf www.fao.org/3/a-i4715e.pdf
94 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
NENA REGION AFRICA REGION
EASTERN EUROPE,  
ASIA AND  CAUCASUS AND  
THE PACIFIC REGION CENTRAL ASIA REGION LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN REGION
BOXES
BOX 1 EXAMPLES OF CHILD LABOUR IN ILLICIT ACTIVITIES IN AGRICULTURE
> Illegal logging
> Illegal hunting
> Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing
> Illegal activities leading to deforestation and forest degradation
> Illegal drug crops cultivations, which often also leads to illegal deforestation
BOX 2 EXAMPLES OF HAZARDOUS TASKS IN AGRICULTURE
> Long working hours
> Carrying heavy loads
> Repetitive movements
> Extreme temperatures/weather
> Work underground, underwater, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces
> Exposure to or direct application of chemicals/hazardous pesticides (work in greenhouse)
> Exposure to accidents and biological hazards (work in slaughterhouses)
> Use of dangerous equipment or machinery, sharp tools
> Abuse or harassment 
95
BOX 3 ROLE OF EXTENSION SERVICES
In Malawi, the Department of Agricultural Extension Services within the Ministry of 
Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development together with the National Smallholder 
Farmers’ Association initiated a nation-wide campaign against child labour in agriculture. 
First, they included child labour-related messages in their regular extension materials. Then 
they developed a series of leaflets and posters specifically on eliminating child labour that 
were distributed through district agricultural offices across the country. In parallel, the 
ministries extension services developed a documentary on child labour in agriculture. Using a 
mobile van, they screened the film in remote villages across the country. The tours targeted 
agricultural sectors such as tea, coffee, fisheries and cattle-herding, among others. The tour 
dates were announced in advance through local radio channels. More than 10 000 rural 
women, men and youth viewed the documentary and debated it afterwards with extension 
agents. Representatives from a number of the villages where the video was screened pledged 
to raise the issue of child labour in the local council meetings and to adopt local by-laws as 
a deterrent for the use of children in tasks that are unsuitable to their age. In the build-up 
to the campaign, the International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture 
helped develop the capacities of extension agents in district agricultural offices across the 
country in collaboration with the ministries of agriculture, labour and social affairs. 
Source: FAO. 2017. Ending child labour. The decisive role of agricultural stakeholders. Rome.    
(also available at http://www.fao.org/3/a-i8177e.pdf).
BOX 4 ROLE OF DIFFERENT UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES CONTRIBUTING TO  
END CHILD LABOUR
Organization Role contributing to end child labour 
International Labour Improving labour conditions, promoting the prevention, 
Organization (ILO) treatment and rehabilitation of working children; decent 
work agenda (member of the International Partnership for 
Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture [IPCCLA])
Food and Agricultural Ending hunger and malnutrition, reducing poverty, 
Organization (FAO) promoting safer agricultural practices, sustainable 
agricultural and food systems, and decent rural 
employment (member of the IPCCLA)
International Fund for Eliminating extreme poverty and hunger in rural areas, 
Agricultural Development promoting decent work for youth (member of the IPCCLA)
United Nations International Welfare and development of children, in particular 
Children Emergency Fund through nutrition and social protection programmes, child 
(UNICEF) protection interventions as well as access to education
World Food Programme (WFP) Providing assistance in terms of food and improved 
nutrition as well as access to education through school 
meals programmes
96 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
BOX 5 DIMITRA CLUBS
The FAO Dimitra Clubs are groups of women, men and young people – mixed or not – who 
decide to organize themselves to work together to bring about changes in their communities. 
They meet regularly to discuss the challenges they face in their daily lives, make decisions 
and take action to resolve their problems. 
Dimitra Clubs have proven to be effective gender- and age-sensitive channels to mobilize and 
empower rural communities to address different issues including child labour in agriculture. 
The capacity of the Dimitra Club facilitators and leaders was strengthened on child labour 
through a series of training sessions. The topic of child labour in agriculture was then 
introduced and discussed in the 30 Dimitra Clubs in 6 communes of the circle of Bandiagara, 
in the north of Mali. These discussions gave the members of women’s, men’s and youth clubs 
the opportunity to improve their understanding of the dangers linked to child labour in 
agriculture, express their views and opinions, and find solutions to reduce child labour. 
In a final assembly, they decided with the traditional leaders which immediate measures 
could be taken. A series of recreational/socializing activities to further awareness were also 
identified (e.g. theatre). 
BOX 6 COUNTRY EXPERIENCES RELATED TO HAZARDOUS WORK LISTS 
Occupational safety and health hazard assessment in agricultural-pastoral and fisheries 
facilities in the Niger (2018) 
The Niger has not yet adopted a hazardous work list for children as foreseen by the Minimum 
Age Convention, 1974 (No. 138) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 
182). The main objective of the assessmentwas to evaluate the hazards faced by workers in 
the agropastoral and fisheries sector and to identify the challenges and primary needs of 
farm owners in the Niger in order to make recommendations for the improvement of safety 
conditions in farms and working conditions for the children and adults concerned. 
The data collected allowed for the formulation of recommendations for the improvement of 
working conditions on farms and the promotion of occupational safety and health in the 
Niger. It also supported the development of a recommendation guide for the hazardous work 
list in these three subsectors employing child workers.
Development of a list of light work activities authorized for children aged 13–16 in 
Côte d’Ivoire (2017)
Based on the results of a survey on child labour, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire updated its 
national hazardous work list and developed a list of light work activities for children aged 
13–16 (CNS, 2017), adopted in 2017. A distinctive and innovative aspect of this list is its 
inclusion of tasks acceptable for children in the 13–16 age group in different agricultural 
subsectors.
Source: CNS. 2017. Les documents fondateurs. In: Comité National de Surveillance des Actions de Lutte contre la 
Traite, l’Exploitation et le travail des Enfants [online]. [Cited 22 May 2020]. http://www.travaildesenfants.org/fr/
documents-fondateurs/la-liste-des-travaux-l-gers-autoris-s-aux-enfants-dont-l-ge-est-compris-entre
B O X E S 97
BOX 7 A CHILD LABOUR LENS IN IRRIGATION PROGRAMMES
An irrigation programme could take into account not only technology for the transportation 
of irrigation water to the fields, but also the provision of safe drinking water closer to 
households and animal watering points. This would lessen the need for children to 
herd animals and reduce the time spent by children collecting water for crops and for 
household use. 
BOX 8 DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT – FAO APPLIED DEFINITION
Decent rural employment refers to any activity, occupation, work, business or service 
performed for pay or pro¬fit by women and men, adults and youth, in rural areas that:
1. respects the core labour standards as de¬fined in ILO Conventions, and therefore is not 
child labour, is not forced labour, does not entail discrimination at work, guarantees 
freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining;
2. provides an adequate living income;
3. entails an adequate degree of employment security and stability;
4. adopts sector-specifi¬c minimum occupational safety and health measures;
5. avoids excessive working hours and allows sufficient time for rest;
6. promotes access to adapted technical and vocational training.
Source: FAO. 2015. Understanding decent rural employment. Infographic. Rome.  
(also available at http://www.fao.org/3/a-bc270e.pdf).
98 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
BOX 9 JUNIOR FARMER FIELD AND LIFE SCHOOLS IN UGANDA
In Uganda, FAO and its partners have implemented junior farmer field and life schools 
(JFFLS) to address the immediate needs of vulnerable children living in rural communities 
affected by conflict. 
The project targeted both children and youth from 12 to 18, from households of internally 
displaced people (IDP), some directly or indirectly affected by HIV and AIDS, others with 
severely disabled parents or living with elderly grandparents or guardians, and either out of 
school or with low school attendance. Planned around the local agricultural calendar, the 
programme enabled children to develop agricultural, entrepreneurial and social skills through 
classroom-based studies and practical sessions in the field, which were complemented by life 
skills sessions, local theatre, art, dance and music. 
JFFLS is a tested modular methodology used to teach either vulnerable and disadvantaged 
children or young people of legal working age about agriculture, entrepreneurial skills and 
how to take care of themselves and set goals in life. These schools follow a “living classroom” 
approach in which the students or children out of school observe the crops throughout the 
growing season.
As a result, in Uganda, the JFFLS not only increased school enrolment, performance and 
attendance of children in primary schools, but also helped improve the diet of children and 
increase their knowledge on agriculture. In Panyangara Primary School in Kotido District, 
40 pupils returned to school between 2012 and 2013, thanks to the JFFLS. In Kaberamaido 
District, 64 children belonging to community JFFLS were also attracted back to school in 
2008. Improved attendance has also resulted in improved performance among vulnerable 
children. In 2012, some of the topics covered in the JFFLS curriculum appeared in the Primary 
Leaving Examinations. Children trained in the JFFLS became role models and went on to 
share the knowledge and skills acquired with other family members and the wider community.
The JFFLS methodology has been introduced and implemented in over 20 countries in a 
variety of contexts, either to ‘’rebrand’’ agriculture as fun within schools or to support the 
entrance of rural youth in the agricultural sector in various value chains.
Source: FAO. 2014. FAO’s Farmer Field and Life Schools give children a voice.  
(also available at www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/emergencies/docs/FAO%20Uganda%20Junior%20
Farmer%20Field%20and%20Life%20Schools%20(JFFLS).pdf).
B O X E S 99
BOX 10 COFFEE CAMPS IN GUATEMALA: 127 YOUTHS AGED 16–29 
La Nueva Generación Cafetalera (New Coffee Generation) is an initiative implemented within 
the context of FAO’s Integrated Country Approach for boosting decent jobs for youth in 
the agri-food system. This initiative aims at helping rural youth discover the sector of 
speciality coffee as a space for personal growth and job opportunities. It builds the capacity 
of youth in production, roasting, tasting and barismo, raising their entrepreneurial spirit and 
establishing links with coffee markets. More than one hundred youth between the ages of 16 
and 29 were involved in a five-stage learning journey to discover and build their capacities 
in the coffee value chain. At the end of the programme, 22 girls and 19 boys were selected 
based on their level of interest and motivation to undertake an internship with different 
businesses in the coffee community of Guatemala. This journey was transformational for all 
the participants in terms of self-discovery, learning about the different facets of the coffee 
sector and their own potential as well as skills development.
Source: FAO. 2019. Nueva Generación Cafetalera. El café de especialidad: Una ventana de oportunidad para la población 
joven en el área rural. Rome. (also available at www.fao.org/3/ca4278es/CA4278ES.pdf).
BOX 11 UGANDA’S NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE
In 2017, FAO, through its Integrated Country Approach, supported the Ministry of 
Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of Uganda (MAAIF) in the development of the five-
year National Strategy for Youth Employment in Agriculture (NSYEA). The NSYEA aims 
to strengthen the institutional framework of youth employment in agricultural value chains, 
invest in youth education and learning by creating national information centres to serve as 
innovation hubs and unlocking the specific constraints that limit the start-up and expansion 
of their agricultural enterprises. The strategy also targets youth between 15–17 by working 
with national public and private actors to foster their inclusion in programmes dedicated 
to agricultural sector development. A concrete example in this regard is the Youth Inspiring 
Youth in Agriculture (YIYA) initiative, piloted with FAO support in 2017 under the NSYEA, 
and to be replicated and scaled up in 2020. The main objective of the YIYA was to create and 
promote youth employment in the agricultural sector by fostering role models of youth agro-
entrepreneurs. Through a nationwide competition facilitated by FAO and MAAIF, 25 young 
agripreneurs (all over 20 years old) were selected as “Youth Champions” to train and coach 
other youth (including younger youth) in their communities. Following the success of the 
initiative, a survey was conducted in 2019 to better understand the needs of younger youth 
as mentees (including 14–17-year-olds and in school and school dropouts). The results of the 
assessment will shape the next, scaled-up round of the YIYA initiative and inform the overall 
youth mentorship strategy of the Government of Uganda.
100 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
BOX 12 UNVEILING LINKAGES BETWEEN CASH TRANSFERS AND CHILD LABOUR 
REDUCTION IN KENYA
The From Protection to Production (PtoP) project is a multi-country impact evaluation of 
cash transfers in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, the PtoP evaluation revealed a positive 
linkage between social protection and child labour reduction. 
A programme entitled Kenya’s Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC) 
was launched in order to encourage fostering and retention of children and promote their 
human capital development. The national child protection programme provided a monthly 
cash transfer to ultra-poor families with orphans and vulnerable children aged 17 or under. 
The intervention reduced on-farm child labour by 12 percent; the impact was concentrated 
among boys and there was no significant impact on girls. It also improved the economic 
livelihoods of beneficiaries, who were primarily agricultural producers. It increased 
accumulation of productive assets (especially livestock), and agricultural producers growing 
local maize and beans using traditional technologies diversified into casual wage labour and 
non-farm enterprises.
Source: FAO. 2013. The impact of the Kenya CT-OVC programme on productive activities and labour allocation. Rome.  
(also available at http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/p2p/Publications/Kenya_HH_2012.pdf).
BOX 13 INCREASED AWARENESS THROUGH THE ROTTERDAM CONVENTION 
The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous 
Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade provides information and requires action 
on certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides. Designated National Authorities (DNAs) can 
share this information with ministries of labour to contribute to the drafting or revision of 
national hazardous work lists for children.
Through the Rotterdam Convention, FAO is able to facilitate dialogue among various national 
stakeholders (ministries of agriculture, environment and labour, and pesticides control boards) 
and build their awareness on child labour and the protection of children from pesticides. This 
has been translated to capacity-building activities with DNAs to increase their understanding 
of the potential hazards of child labour, and its negative impacts. Information, tools and 
support have been provided on how to prevent it, how to consider child labour in national 
risk assessments of pesticides and what actions can be taken to protect children from the 
risk of pesticides and hazardous labour.
B O X E S 101
BOX 14 INTEGRATION OF CHILD LABOUR IN NATIONAL POLICIES AND 
FRAMEWORKS: CAMBODIA
In recent years, the Cambodian Government and FAO have worked to address child labour 
issues in fisheries and aquaculture. In particular, the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, 
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has proactively integrated child labour concerns into existing 
policies and legal frameworks. These efforts to mainstream child labour into national 
programmes have led to the drafting of a first Child Development Strategy for the Ministry 
as a whole, which includes a component on child labour prevention.
Such achievements are the result of a continuous multi-stakeholder approach, which 
started in 2010 when FAO and the ILO held an International Experts Workshop on Child 
Labour in Fisheries and Aquaculture. The Government of Cambodia was one of the key 
actors involved in the workshop, which led to the development of the FAO-ILO Guidance on 
Addressing Child Labour in Fisheries and Aquaculture. In Cambodia, the Guidance has been 
used to improve the understanding of the nature, causes and consequences of child labour 
in fisheries and aquaculture. For instance, the document has been adopted by World Vision 
in the implementation of its US-funded programme to combat exploitative child labour in 
the country.
In 2011, following a request for support by the Government of Cambodia, FAO conducted a 
participatory scoping study on child labour in Cambodia. The study was undertaken within 
the framework of the national consultations with fisheries organizations for the development 
of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of 
Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). Moreover, in 2015, MAFF finalized 
a first draft of the National Action Plan 2015–2020 on gender mainstreaming and 
elimination of the worst forms of child labour in the fisheries sector.
102 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
BOX 15 CAPTURE FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN NATIONAL HAZARDOUS  
WORK LISTS
Côte d’Ivoire. Article 11 of the 2012 Hazardous Work List (MEMEASS/CAB, 2012)1 includes 
specific reference to work in fishing when citing prohibited work. Specifically, children under 
18 years of age should not undertake fishing at sea, in the lagoon or in rivers, nor should 
they perform deep-sea diving in lagoon and coastal areas or rivers. The List also prohibits 
more general hazardous work relevant to fishing and aquaculture and which can damage the 
development of the child, including handling and application of chemical products. 
Indonesia. The Hazardous Work List (Decision of the Ministry 2003, Attachment C-5)2 cites 
tasks endangering the health and safety of children, including jobs in offshore fishing 
activities, fishing in deep/pelagic waters and jobs on ships. The List also includes jobs 
that expose children to general hazardous conditions that can be relevant to fisheries and 
aquaculture, such as jobs underwater, lifting heavy weights and operating machinery.
1 CNS. 2017. Les documents fondateurs. In: Comité National de Surveillance des Actions de Lutte contre la 
Traite, l’Exploitation et le travail des Enfants [online]. [Cited 22 May 2020]. http://www.travaildesenfants.org/ 
fr/documents-fondateurs/la-liste-des-travaux-l-gers-autoris-s-aux-enfants-dont-l-ge-est-compris-entre
2 IPEC. 2014. National Legislation on Hazardous Child Labour. Indonesia. (also available at https:// 
www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/download.do?type=document&id=27090).
B O X E S 103
BOX 16 PARTICIPATORY, HANDS-ON APPROACHES TO ADDRESS CHILD LABOUR  
IN LIVESTOCK
Innovative approaches that aim to address barriers to education for pastoralists include 
distance learning, mobile schools, school feeding programmes or cash transfers, as well as 
boarding schools, pastoral field schools (PFS) and livestock farmer field schools (livestock FFS). 
Based on an adaptation of the FFS approach, PFS are “schools without walls”, where capacity 
is developed from existing local knowledge. They are guided by the following key principles:
> Learning is by doing and problem based.
> The herd and the landscape are the main learning grounds.
> Discovery-based learning tools trigger a spirit of curiosity and innovativeness.
> Trained facilitators guide the learning process, not by teaching but by facilitating.
The PFS concept, currently developed in Kenya and Uganda, is being taken up in other 
countries such as Ethiopia and Djibouti and by multiple actors from non-governmental 
organizations to governments. To better deal with the drought risk in a collective manner, the 
PFS approach has in many cases been implemented in complementarity with the Community-
Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR) approach, and powerful platforms for collective 
action have emerged in intervention sites in Karamoja, Uganda and Turkana, Kenya.
Note: The PFS approach (an adaptation of farmer field schools to the pastoral situation) was piloted in 2006 by 
the International Livestock Research Institute and Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium, working directly in the 
arid and semi-arid and conflict-prone areas of Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan. For further information on the 
PFS approach: http://www.fao.org/capacity-development/news-list/detail/en/c/883112
BOX 17 DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY AND BLOCKCHAIN 
A distributed ledger is a type of database – or system of records – that is shared, replicated 
and synchronized among the members of a network. 
A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger that comprises unchangeable, digitally recorded 
data in packages called blocks, where each block is then “chained” to the next block, using 
a cryptographic signature. 
Blockchains can allow consumers to track and trace products through the value chains. It can 
also help companies and partners address social issues such as decent work and child labour.
Note: Adapted from the working definitions used by the ITU-T Focus Group on Application of Distributed Ledger 
Technology (as of September 2018) (ITU – International Telecommunication Union).
Source: FAO & ITU. 2019. E-agriculture in action: Blockchain for agriculture. Opportunities and challenges. Bangkok. (also 
available at http://www.fao.org/3/ca2906en/ca2906en.pdf).
104 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
BOX 18 ADDRESSING CHILD LABOUR IN THE CONTEXT OF CRISIS –  
THE EXAMPLE OF LEBANON
Within the framework of the Lebanese Crisis Response Plan, FAO has joined forces with ILO 
and UNICEF to address child labour in agriculture among refugee children by contributing to 
the ongoing efforts under Lebanon’s National Action Plan to Eliminate the Worst Forms of 
Child Labour, the work of the child protection cluster, and by providing training throughout 
the country to members of the food security cluster. 
This fruitful UN partnership has resulted in the production of material aimed at strengthening 
the capacities of stakeholders to address child labour in agriculture among refugees, such as 
a poster on protecting children from pesticides and the FAO-ILO facilitator’s visual guide, 
Protect children from pesticides! (in Arabic).1 An educational tool to reduce and prevent 
exposure of children to pesticides, but also to protect human health and the environment 
from the potential harm of hazardous chemicals in rural areas, children can relate to it 
and it has been used in different primary and high schools. An FAO-UNICEF storybook – a 
short visual story for younger potentially illiterate children (in Arabic)2 – especially targets 
refugee children who live in refugee camps and informal rural settlements. It focuses on 
displaced and refugee children and had a catalytic effect with the production of a guidance 
note on child labour in agriculture in protracted crisis, fragile and humanitarian contexts, 
aligned with FAO commitments made during the World Humanitarian Summit in favour of 
International Human Rights to uphold the norms that safeguard humanity.
1 http://www.fao.org/3/b-i3527a.pdf
2 http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7165a.pdf
BOX 19 SAFEGUARDS TO MONITOR AND SUPPORT DECENT WORK AND  
PREVENT CHILD LABOUR THROUGH AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND 
NUTRITION PROGRAMMING
> Screen participants for age during registration.
> Monitor participants’ age and their age related to tasks during activities.
> Develop clear standards for children who are engaged in cash- or food-for-work 
programmes or other food security and agriculture interventions.
> Identify appropriate and safe tasks vs hazardous and heavy tasks for children above 14/15.
> Seek support to have workplace safety guidelines in farm and other agricultural or 
fisheries-related settings.
B O X E S 105
BOX 20 A SUCCESSFUL APPROACH TO MAINSTREAMING CHILD LABOUR ISSUES IN 
FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE POLICY
In Cambodia, in October 2011, a national consultation to combat child labour in the fisheries 
sector was held, with representatives from relevant ministries, and employer and worker 
organizations and community fisheries institutions, to identify strategies and areas for 
action and to develop a draft National Plan of Action (NPA) on Eliminating Child Labour in 
the Fisheries Sector of Cambodia.
The NPA outlines specific steps for addressing child labour in the fisheries and aquaculture 
sector, specifying who is responsible for each step. In addition, the Government of Cambodia 
included child labour elimination targets in fishing communities as part of the ten-year 
Strategic Planning Framework for fisheries and incorporated child labour concerns in the 
Cambodia Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CAMCODE).
BOX 21 QUESTIONS WHEN LOOKING AT COHERENCE AMONG RELEVANT POLICY AREAS
Area Questions
Education > Are there significant gaps in enrolment/attainment between rural 
and urban areas? 
> Do children in rural areas have adequate access to schools  
(e.g. are there prohibitive costs such as school fees or uniform), 
qualified teachers and curricula relevant to rural communities? 
> Are there vocational training opportunities for out-of-school 
children? 
> Are there provisions to provide schooling to nomadic children and 
children of seasonal workers? 
> Are issues relating to agriculture incorporated into the  
school curriculum?
> Are issues related to child labour in agriculture incorporated into 
the food and agriculture curricula in universities and vocational 
education? 
Social protection > Are there significant gaps in rural/urban service provision? 
> Are there social protection provisions specific to agriculture, for 
example social insurance to cover crop failure (this is important 
because “income shocks” caused by crop failure can mean that 
families can no longer afford to send children to school)?
> Do agricultural and rural workers have access to healthcare, 
medical insurance and clinics?
(continues)
106 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
Box 21 (continued)
Area Questions
Labour  > Do labour market policies support the productive activities of 
market policy vulnerable families? 
> Do they help to provide decent work opportunities for rural 
adolescents above the minimum age for employment? 
> Are the policies suited to the needs of rural communities? 
> Do they support decent work in agriculture?
National legislation > Are all forms of child labour in agriculture covered in national 
and enforcement labour and child protection policy? 
> Is there adequate capacity and know-how to enforce child 
labour legislation in agricultural settings? 
> Do labour inspectors have a mandate to cover agricultural 
areas, including family-based settings (and not only 
commercial farming)? 
> Are there provisions to protect children working in the informal 
economy?
Sustainable > Do agricultural policies aim to improve rural livelihoods or 
agriculture and reduce vulnerability to risk? 
rural development > Do policies promote practices or technologies to reduce the 
labour demand for tasks typically undertaken by children or to 
make agricultural work safer? 
> Are youth of legal working age supported to access productive 
resources?
BOX 22 HOW CHILD LABOUR ISSUES ARE CONSIDERED IN  
FAO GLOBAL MECHANISMS 
In 2013, a revised International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management was approved at 
the 38th Session of the FAO Conference to encourage governments and the pesticide industry 
to adopt measures to reduce children’s vulnerability to exposure. New international guidelines 
are being developed by FAO to confront substandard working conditions in the seafood 
industry and are to be discussed at the Committee on Fisheries meeting in July 2020. 
The Vigo Dialogue sessions in 2014 and 2015 discussed the promotion of decent work issues, 
including child labour in fisheries and aquaculture, and in 2015 focused on benefits and 
incentives of decent work in the sector. 
B O X E S 107
108 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
©ILO/M. Crozet
ANNEXES
Annex 1
Tasks, hazards and risks of children’s work  
in crop production
Tasks Hazards Health risks
Preparation > Use of farm vehicles and heavy > Accidents with vehicles and machinery
of land machinery > Entanglement or getting dragged into 
> Excessive exposure to noise machinery
> Draught animals > Hearing loss 
> Injuries from animals
Application > Exposure to pesticides and > Acute pesticide poisoning
of fertilizers other toxic chemicals > Chronic effects of pesticide exposure (e.g. 
and spraying cancer, neurological damage, respiratory 
of chemicals diseases)
Weeding, > Use of sharp tools (machetes, > Injuries from sharp tools
harvesting knives, scythes, sickles) > Skin problems (e.g. allergies, rashes or 
and > Exposure to skin irritants blistering)
processing contained in crops > Allergic respiratory diseases
of collected > Exposure to high levels of > Pesticide poisoning 
crops organic dust from fields
> Contamination from pesticide 
spray drift, from not observing 
pesticide re-entry intervals, 
or from contact with 
contaminated soil and water
Outdoor crop > Exposure to extreme weather > Frostbite, sunstroke and other thermal 
activities  and solar radiation stresses
(e.g. planting > Lack of drinking water > Skin cancer
of seedlings) > Exposure to wild animals and > Dehydration
insects (especially without > Respiratory infections in cold and wet 
appropriate protective working conditions
clothing, footwear and shelter) 
> Diseases from drinking stagnant or 
> Attacks from dangerous wild polluted water
animals and insects
> Diseases transmitted through insects and 
wild animals
> Cuts, bruises, puncture wounds from thorns
Loading and > Handling of heavy loads > Musculoskeletal injuries and disorders
carrying > Extended awkward postures > Blistered hands and feet
produce and > Repeated movements > Aches, pains, sprains, strains
water
109
Annex 2
Tasks, hazards and risks of children’s work in livestock
Tasks Hazards Health risks
All activities > Exposure to biological hazards > Numerous zoonotic or parasitic 
involving handling through direct contact with infections and diseases
or being near the animal, with substances 
livestock derived from it or with 
contaminated environments
All activities > Large or dangerous animals > Being bitten, jostled, butted,  
involving direct gored (by horns), kicked, stamped on 
contact with large or trampled by animals; infection of 
animals wounds
Outdoor livestock > Exposure to extreme weather > Frostbite, sunstroke and other 
activities and solar radiation thermal stresses
> Lack of drinking water > Skin cancer
> Exposure to wild animals and > Dehydration
insects (especially without > Respiratory infections in cold and wet 
appropriate protective working conditions
clothing, footwear and 
shelter) > Diseases from drinking stagnant or 
polluted water
> Bites, stings and diseases from wild 
animals and insects
> Cuts, bruises, puncture wounds from 
thorns; infection of wounds
Having the > Exposure – or fear of exposure > Injuries related to physical abuse 
responsibility for – to punishment or beatings from employers
herding for animal loss or crop > Psychosocial stress or trauma
destruction by animals
> Excessive feeling of 
responsibility for (family) 
capital
Herding away from > Poor diet and inadequate food > Malnutrition
home intake > Stunted growth
> Long periods of isolation > Psychosocial stress from working in 
> Fatigue or drowsiness isolation
> Long hours  or many days  > Poor judgement in performing duties, 
spent working away from potentially leading to dangerous 
home decisions
Herding on > Exposure to horse-related > Injuries related to handling horses 
horseback accidents and diseases (bites, kicks) and riding (falls)
> Diseases transmitted through bites; 
infection of wounds
> Horse-related diseases or parasites 
(continues)
110 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
Annex 2 (continued)
Tasks Hazards Health risks
Slaughtering or > Use of sharp objects, > Injuries from slaughtering tools or 
slaughterhouse dangerous tools or machinery machinery
activities > Forceful repetitive movements > Cuts, infection of wounds
> Exposure to carcasses > Stress injuries
> Skin disorders
> Zoonotic and fungal infections
Loading and > Use of sharp objects, > Musculoskeletal injuries and disorders 
carrying water, dangerous tools or machinery (e.g. joint and bone deformities)
collecting fodder > Carrying heavy loads > Injuries and wounds 
and manure(and > Extended awkward postures > Blistered hands and feet
other similar > Repeated movements > Aches, pains, sprains, strains and 
activities) swelling
Washing animals, > Exposure to contaminated > Zoonotic parasitic diseases
fetching water (and water
other activities > Drinking stagnant or polluted 
related to water water
Handling chemicals > Exposure to toxic chemicals > Rashes and other skin disorders 
used for livestock > Allergic reactions
treatment of > Breathing difficulties
internal and 
external parasites > Eye irritation
> Chemical poisoning
> Liver damage
> Nerve and neurological  disorders
> Cancers
> Reproductive health disorders
All livestock > Poor sanitation and hygiene > Infectious diseases
activities > Dermatitis
> Urinary tract infections
> Respiratory diseases
> Eye disease
> Spread of parasites
A N N E X E S 111
Annex 3
Tasks, hazards and risks of children’s work in capture 
fisheries and aquaculture
Tasks Hazards Health risks
Sorting, unloading > Carrying of heavy loads > Joint and bone deformities
and transportation > Use of large machines with > Blistered hands and feet
of catches moving parts > Lacerations
> Exposure to loud noises > Back and muscle injuries
> Amputation of fingers, toes and limbs
> Hearing loss
Preparation of food > Use of sharp blades > Cuts
on fishing vessels > Use of or working in vicinity > Burns
of stoves in poor repair
Diving for certain > Diving in deep water > Death by drowning
aquatic species, > Working in polluted water > Hypoxia
or to free snagged > Working in vicinity of > Decompression disease
nets or scare fish dangerous fish
into nets > Dizziness> Exposure to boat propellers > Emphysema
> Entanglement in fishing nets > Bites or stings from fish
> Hearing loss from ear infections or 
rapid pressure change
Active fishing; > Carrying and hauling of heavy > Blistered hands and feet
hauling fish onto loads > Lacerations
boat > Use of sharp objects > Back and muscle injuries
> Fish poisoning
Going out to sea > Lack of appropriate fishing > Death or broken bones from surf 
ports, boat shelters and crossing
anchorages
Dangerous fishing > Trawling vessel gear snagging > Death due to capsizing of vessels
operations on a fastener (due to > Being swept overboard
obstacles on sea bed)
> Stings, bites, tail kicks
> Small seiners capsizing under 
the downward pressure of a 
large catch of fish “sinking” 
during the last stage of net 
hauling
> Entanglement in nets
> Ropes running out while 
setting the gear
> Attacks by marine animals
(continues)
112 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
Annex 3 (continued)
Tasks Hazards Health risks
Working on boats > Working in crowded > Death by drowning
and in water conditions > Hypothermia
> Working in deep, cold or > Nausea
polluted water
> Claustrophobia
> Slippery walkways
> Parasitic infections (e.g. bilharzias, 
> Fumes and odours guinea worm)
> Use of loud equipment > Broken bones and head injuries 
> Lack of drinking water > Exhaustion
> Working long hours and at > Hunger
night
> Dehydration
> Bad weather conditions, poor 
weather warning systems and 
lack of radio communication
> Working on unsuitable boats 
> Sudden gales, major storms 
and heavy fog causing boat 
accidents
> Capsizing, grounding, 
becoming lost, collisions
> Physical or emotional abuse
Long periods at sea > Sexual abuse, intimidation, > Sexually transmitted diseases and 
on boats or fishing exposure to and pressure or HIV/AIDS
platforms enticement to engage in adult > Alcoholism, drug use and smoking-
behaviour related diseases
Behavioural > Risk-taking (in the case of > Death by drowning
responses spatial–temporal limits on > Physical exhaustion
to fisheries fishing time or area, fishers 
management may venture further offshore)
> Becoming lost
Cleaning, > Use of sharp tools > Blistered hands and feet
processing, smoking > Exposure to smoke and > Lacerations
and selling fish chemicals > Backache and other musculoskeletal 
> Working long hours standing strains and disorders
or bending > Exhaustion
Repairing nets, > Use of sharp or heavy tools > Blistered hands and feet
vessels > Lacerations
Tending aquaculture > Exposure to fish and > Injury from falls
farms mosquitoes > Death by drowning
> Malaria, dengue
> Pesticide poisoning
A N N E X E S 113
Annex 4
Tasks, hazards and risks of children’s work in forestry
Tasks Hazards Health risks
Climbing trees to > Working at dangerous heights > Fatal or non-fatal injuries  
harvest fruits > Falls from ladders and trees (e.g. broken bones, skull fractures 
and head injuries) 
Collecting honey > Attacks by bees > Stings 
from beehives
Planting and > Use of sharp tools > Injuries from sharp tools and 
logging > Exposure to dangerous machinery (e.g. cuts, wounds, 
machinery amputation)
> Carrying heavy loads > Musculoskeletal disorders
> Repetitive movements
Working outdoors > Exposure to extreme weather, > Frostbite, sunstroke and other 
solar radiation thermal stresses
> Lack of drinking water > Skin cancer
> Exposure to wild animals and > Dehydration
insects (especially without > Respiratory infections in cold and wet 
appropriate protective working conditions
clothing, footwear and 
shelter) > Diseases from drinking stagnant or 
polluted water
> Bites, stings
> Attacks by dangerous wild animals 
and insects
> Diseases transmitted through insect 
bites and wild animal attacks
> Cuts, bruises, puncture wounds from 
thorns; infection of wounds
> Infectious diseases  
(e.g. malaria, dengue fever)
114 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
Annex 5
Good practices for addressing child labour
GOOD PRACTICES FOR ADDRESSING CHILD LABOUR – CONTRIBUTING TO THE REDUCTION 
OF CHILD LABOUR AND THE ELIMINATION OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR
Components Content
Awareness-raising / > Sensitize communities through campaigns on:
Sensitization – the difference between child labour and age-appropriate tasks
– worst forms of child labour
– causes of child labour
– common areas of child labour
– negative effects of child labour on both children and the future 
development of the community
> Sensitize national policy-makers, local government authorities, 
farmers’ organizations and other stakeholders about related issues:
– occupational safety and health 
– national legislation
– international obligations
– consequences of child labour
Income-generating > Promote income-generating activities (e.g. livestock, seeds for 
activities and decent work agricultural production) among parents whose children are affected 
promotion in rural areas by child labour
> Implement livelihoods / decent work creation programmes that 
address the root causes of child labour in rural communities 
> Create self-help groups to provide seed money to vulnerable 
families
> Foster inclusive finance and access to other productive resources 
(e.g. land) to reduce rural poverty
> Facilitate access to markets and modern value chains for small-
scale producers through inclusive business models to address the 
root causes of child labour in farming households 
Policy development / > Change public opinion towards child labour through advocacy with 
Advocacy partners (e.g. children, civil society groups, teachers, trade unions 
and media)
> Advocate for new school policies to provide working teens with 
health and safety information
Removal of child > Provide child shelter for children removed from slave-like working 
labourers from hazardous conditions 
working conditions > Advocate at political level for institutional support for former child 
labourers (e.g. legal protection, repatriation to their families) 
Action plans to combat > Provide vocational training to and raise skills of former child 
worst forms of child labourers
labour > Give support to find decent employment
Implementation of > Advocate at political level for improved legislation and 
income-generating implementation of laws against worst forms of child labour
programmes to 
compensate for loss of 
children’s income
(continues)
A N N E X E S 115
WITHDRAWAL PREVENTION
Annex 5 (continued)
GOOD PRACTICES FOR ADDRESSING CHILD LABOUR – CONTRIBUTING TO THE REDUCTION 
OF CHILD LABOUR AND THE ELIMINATION OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR
Components Content
Occupational safety > Advocate for and advise on appropriate policies
and health legislation, > Ensure that public–private partnerships adopt responsible  
policies and programmes business principles including support on health and safety in  
the supply chain
> Establish joint training for labour inspectors and extension agents
> Provide training on how to improve health and safety working 
conditions in agriculture
Skills development > Provide vocational or on-the-job training for children above the 
legal minimum working age
Formal and non-formal > Increase access to quality education
education > Provide non-formal education
> Prepare children who have had little schooling for reintegration in 
formal schooling 
> Build capacity of teachers
Vocational training skills > Develop entrepreneurship skills of children (above the legal 
for ex-child labourers minimum working age)
> Prepare youths to be productive and reliable citizens who can be 
self-dependent in the future
Social activities > Implement social reintegration strategies to ensure the children’s 
ability to thrive within the community 
116 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
REHABILITATION PROTECTION
Annex 6
Assessing programme impacts on child labour
THE TICKS () INDICATE WHETHER THE PROCESS STEPS SHOULD BE 
INCLUDED IN A PLANNING, MONITORING OR EVALUATION PROCESS. 
THOSE STEPS NOT DESCRIBED IN THE HANDBOOK ARE WRITTEN  
IN ITALICS.
Preparation of the process
Research on the child labour situation   
Identification of actual and/or potential programme impacts on child labour   
Design of the M&E process   
Identification of necessary resources (personal and budget)   
Identification of relevant stakeholders, their roles and interests  
Formulation of indicators  
Formulation of guiding questions 
Data collection
Research on existing secondary data   
Identification of tools for data collection   
Selection of the sample   
Collection of data   
Data analysis
Processing, cross-checking and interpretation of data   
Follow-up
Sharing the findings   
Planning the follow-up process, setting up a work plan  
Adjusting the programme 
Reporting to financing agency, donor and partner   
Considering the findings for the next programme phase   
A N N E X E S 117
Planning
Monitoring
Evaluation
Annex 7
Examples of potential positive and negative impacts  
of agricultural programmes on child labour
Unintended Unintended Programme Positive impacts Unintended 
negative negative activities on the target positive 
impacts on child impacts on the group impacts on 
labour target group child labour
> Misuse of 1.  > Increased human > Increased school 
information Knowledge capital (e.g. attendance of 
management education, health, children
(e.g. access to skills and access > Improved health 
information) to information) care for children 
> Attendance > Neglect by 2.  > Improved > Attendance by 
by children at parents of duties Trainings  knowledge and children above 
Farmer Field (e.g. working in (e.g. Farmer skills legal working 
and Life Schools the rice field) in Field and Life > Increased age at FFLS > 
(FFLS) during order to attend Schools (FFLS) resilience to children develop 
school hours time-consuming shocks responsibility 
> Attendance of FFLS and earn > Increased 
children below important skills household income
the legal working for their future
age at FFLS > Increased > Increased school 
awareness about 
> Increased attendance of the importance 
workload of childrenof education 
children (if education is > Improved 
included in the nutrition for 
agenda) children
> Increased 
interaction with 
other farmers 
> Diversified 
nutrition
> Use by children > Additional work 3.  > Improved > Reduced 
of new for parents Technical knowledge and workload of 
technologies (especially in support / skills children
without proper the beginning) Introduction > Increased > Work safer for 
training > due to new of new household income children of legal 
increase in technologies/
accidents and practices technologies > Increased 
working age 
injuries resilience to > Increased school > New hazards shocks attendance of 
> Increased labour introduced in the 
demand is met workplace > Reduced labour 
children
with children demand > Better nutrition 
> Work safer for for children
youth and adults
(continues)
118 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
Annex 7 (continued)
Unintended Unintended Programme Positive impacts Unintended 
negative negative activities on the target positive 
impacts on child impacts on the group impacts on 
labour target group child labour
> Increased > At the 3.1  > Less time spent > Less time spent 
workload of beginning, Introduction  on irrigation fetching water 
children to meet inability of and/or > farmers can (especially for 
additional costs famers to meet improvement of spend more girls)
> Increased additional costs irrigation systems time on more > Reduced 
workload of of maintenance income-generating and sanitation workload of 
children e.g. activities children 
due to increase > Increased yields > Increased school 
in land under and income attendance of 
production > Improved food children
security > Improved 
nutrition / safe 
drinking water 
for children
4.  > Inclusion of > Withdrawal of 
Extension components children from 
services about child labour hazardous work 
> increased and reduction  
awareness about of risks
child labour, the > Children’s 
hazards and risks school 
for children and attendance 
the importance of ensured by 
education parents
> Diversification of 
income sources 
> decreased 
vulnerability 
> Increased > Increase in 4.1  > Reduced use > Improved 
workload as labour demand Integrated pest of chemical health situation 
a result of management pesticides of children 
alternative > Increased because of 
measures to knowledge of their reduced 
pesticides > farmers about exposure to 
greater demand the risks of using agrochemicals 
for child labour agrochemicals 
and their correct 
application
> Increased > Increased labour 4.2  > Sustained land > Improved health 
workload of demand during Conservation fertility and yield of children 
children during initial years > Agriculture (CA) improvement because they 
the conversion greater weeding > Reduced labour spray fewer 
phase burden demand (time pesticides and 
> Increased > Increased use of saved on do not work in 
exposure to herbicides in the activities often contaminated 
herbicides in the initial phase done by children) fields
initial phase  > Improved food > Increased school 
security attendance of 
children
> Reduction of 
weeding (a task > Reduced 
traditionally done workload of 
by children) children
(continues)
A N N E X E S 119
Annex 7 (continued)
Unintended Unintended Programme Positive impacts Unintended 
negative negative activities on the target positive 
impacts on child impacts on the group impacts on 
labour target group child labour
> Increased > Increased labour 4.3 > Improved > Reduced 
workload of demand due Intensification livestock workload of 
children and to intensive of livestock management children
longer hours livestock production / > Increased income > No need for 
away from breeding Setting up of children to walk 
home (tasks in > Reduced labour 
animal sheds demand long distances livestock and without shelter 
animal-raising > Improved 
traditionally done nutrition > More regular 
by children) school > Reduced cost of attendance 
feeds 
> Farmer 4.4  > Increased income > Less time spent 
vulnerability Afforestation through timber collecting 
increased (e.g. (establishment of fuelwood
due to damage woodlots, nursery > Increased 
by livestock management, tree school 
and wild fire attendance of 
outbreaks in planting) children
woodlots
> Increased > Increased labour 5.  > Increased income > Increase 
workload of demand Income in school 
children generation attendance and 
(e.g. crop lower drop-out 
intensification) rate 
> Fewer children 
in child labour
> Increased > Expansion of 6.  > Higher income > Increase 
opportunity household Microfinance levels in school 
cost of sending productive services / > Enhanced group attendance and 
children to activity Establishment dynamics lower drop-out 
school (if of community rate 
children can > Increased food 
usefully be funds security 
employed)
> Application by > Increased labour 7.  > Increased income > Increase 
children of inputs demand for Input subsidy in school 
> Increased application of programme (e.g. attendance and 
demand for inputs provision of lower drop-out 
child labour due fertilizer) rate 
to increase in 
production
120 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
Annex 8
Examples of child labour indicators  
related to children at the household, community  
and policy levels
Examples of child labour indicators at household level
> Reduction in percentage of households with child labourers employed in agriculture.
> Percentage of households aware of negative consequences of child labour.
Examples of child labour indicators at community level
> Percentage of producers’ organizations carrying out actions against child labour.
> Number of community/local organizations engaging in child labour monitoring.
> Number of community initiatives to raise awareness about child labour and the protection of 
children’s rights. 
Examples of child labour indicators at political level
> Number of agricultural development policies or programmes integrating child labour in their 
strategies/objectives. 
> Number of agricultural support services (e.g. agricultural extension services) that include child 
labour. 
> Budget in agricultural development policies or programmes allocated to child labour-related 
objectives (as a percentage of the total budget). 
> Number of government agencies (ministries of agriculture, agricultural development agencies 
etc.) that incorporate child labour into their policy agenda. 
A N N E X E S 121
Annex 9
FAO Integrated Country Approach to promote 
decent rural employment 
Decent Rural Employment at FAO 
Respects the  Provides an  
 core labour standards as adequate living income 
 defined in ILO Conventions 
 Entails an adequate 
degree of employment 
It is not child labour security and stability 
It is not forced DECENT RURAL 
labour EMPLOYMENT Adopts 
Any activity, occupation, work, minimum OSH 
It guarantees business or service performed measures 
freedom of by women and men, adults and youth, for pay or profit, in rural 
association and the areas that: 
right to collective Avoids excessive 
bargaining working hours 
It does not entail Promotes access to 
discrimination at work adapted technical and 
vocational training  
CORE DIMENSIONS OF AN INTEGRATED COUNTRY APPROACH
To be successful, an approach to promote decent rural employment (DRE) at 
the country level should aim to build synergies across capacity development, 
institutional support, knowledge generation and partnership creation. For 
example, providing skills development for youth without facilitating their 
access to markets and credit may result in failure. Each intervention will reflect 
national and local circumstances and take due consideration of different levels of 
development and national capacity. A successful approach should nevertheless 
include all of the following core activities to varying degrees:
> DRE assessments, focusing – when appropriate – on a specific DRE subtopic 
(e.g. child labour) or value chain.
> DRE-related capacity development activities, relating to: 1) quantitative 
and qualitative aspects of work; 2) the public and the private sector 
(including producer organizations and local government authorities; and 
122 F A O  F R A M E W O R K  O N  E N D I N G  C H I L D  L A B O U R  I N  A G R I C U LT U R E 
3) employment stakeholders (e.g. ministry of labour, labour inspectors) and 
agricultural stakeholders (e.g. ministry of agriculture, extension services).
> Specific activities to support youth engagement in agricultural development 
(e.g. skills development; entrepreneurship support; access to finance, land, 
productive tools and markets; group cooperation).
> Specific activities to support women’s economic empowerment and reduce 
gender inequalities (e.g. skills development; entrepreneurship support; access 
to finance, land, productive tools, markets and support services [child care]; 
and group cooperation).
> Specific activities to improve labour conditions in the agricultural sector, 
prioritizing child labour and forced labour prevention and elimination, 
occupational safety and health (OSH), the situation of migrants, and the 
conditions of casual and seasonal workers.
> Specific activities to improve the institutional and policy environment for 
decent work promotion in agriculture (e.g. development of OSH regulations, 
integration of a decent work section in an agricultural policy under review).
REFERENCE
FAO. 2020. Integrated Country Approach. In: Decent Rural Employment [online]. 
Rome. [Cited 26 May 2020]. http://www.fao.org/rural-employment/toolbox/
module-1-integrated-country-approach/en
A N N E X E S 123
FAO FRAMEWORK 
ON ENDING 
CHILD LABOUR IN 
AGRICULTURE

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome, Italy
 
For further information:
www.fao.org/childlabouragriculture
www.fao.org/rural-employment/en
ISBN 978-92-5-132846-0
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CA9502EN/1/06.20
©Pep Bonet/NOOR for FAO