FAO releases new guide to prevent child labour in conflicts and disasters

A new guide by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, urges child labour concerns be integrated in agriculture, food security and nutrition programmes during crises and disasters, and was presented on Monday to mark the World Day Against Child Labour, FAO reported.

Around the world, 100 million children and young people are affected by disaster each year and 230 million live in areas affected by armed conflict. As a crisis unfolds, a family's capacity to provide adequate food, education and protection for their children is undermined which can result in an increase in both the prevalence and severity of child labour, including the worst forms such as child debt bondage.

"The agriculture sector holds great potential before, during and after crises, to save lives and contribute to livelihoods, support rural households, provide decent employment and alternatives to child labour, including its worst forms," said FAO Assistant Director-General Kostas Stamoulis in a statement posted on FAO's website.

The 26-page guide Child Labour in Agriculture in Protracted Crises, Fragile and Humanitarian Contexts is aimed at development professionals, policy makers and civil society groups working on agriculture, food security and nutrition programming.

It includes practical steps to ensure that programmes contribute to safe employment and training opportunities for youth and that activities intended to support vulnerable families do not have the unintended consequence of encouraging child labour. For example, a cash-for-work initiative may generate high demand for adult participation which could affect the amount of family farm work left to children.

According to FAO, in a crisis, children separated from their families may need to work to survive. Families may pull children out of school and into work. Harvest failures increase the chances that children will need to work to support the household.

In conflict, physical hazards such as firearms and landmines can make children's work in agriculture more dangerous. Children may be sent from refugee camps to work in agriculture, or to collect water and fuel where they are at risk of violence and abuse.

Not all participation by children in agriculture is defined as child labour, FAO says. In many rural communities, children help around the home, look after animals, and pick fruit and vegetables. For short periods and in safe conditions, light agricultural work can allow children to acquire valuable knowledge and skills that will benefit them in the future.

FAO says there are an estimated 168 million child labourers worldwide, 98 million (nearly 60 percent) of whom work in agriculture. The majority work as unpaid family members, often starting at an early age, and may do hazardous work that includes exposure to pesticides, dangerous machinery, heavy loads and long hours. Evidence shows children and adolescents working in agriculture suffer higher rates of injury and death than adults.