Tackling child labour in the cocoa-growing sector - Opportunities and challenges for traders
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Transcript of Tackling child labour in the cocoa-growing sector - Opportunities and challenges for traders
Tackling child labour in the cocoa-growing sector
Opportunities and challenges for traders
Presentation to the Soft Commodities Trading Operations, Logistics & Finance Summit Geneva, 27th February 2013
Nick Weatherill
Who are we?
A unique multi-stakeholder partnership between industry and civil society
New members (2012):
Board Advisor:
Board Observer:
To tackle the problems of child labour, child trafficking and forced adult labour in the cocoa supply-chain.
What is our mission?
Through joint thinking and collective, multi-stakeholder action, based on the principle of shared responsibility.
How do we do this?
What is child labour?
Unacceptable child labour • Underage, unsupervised • Excessive hours, deprived of schooling
Worst forms of child labour • Conditional: hazardous activities
(age/context). • Unconditional: exploitation and trafficking.
Acceptable child work • Work that is limited to a few hours a week,
supervised by responsible adults • Light tasks, usually carried out on the family
farm, that do not compromise school attendance.
Scale of the problem
• 132 million child labourers (U15) in agriculture globally. • 56-72 million child labourers (U15) in agriculture in Africa. • Prevalent - but not specific or unique to cocoa. • Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana: 300,000-900,000 children in child
labour, in cocoa growing. • 97% on family farms.
Improved understanding of child labour in cocoa • Causes
Income poverty and fragile livelihoods. Incomplete awareness through the supply-
chain, amongst farmers, and in key national actors.
Inadequate social infrastructure and basic services.
Weak legislative frameworks, poor rule of law.
• Solutions and good practice Holistic (multiple drivers).
Context-specific.
Community-oriented.
Area-based (cross-sectoral).
Multi-stakeholder, but nationally-led.
Progress to date
Stronger national leadership and coordination at origin
• Ratification of ILO Conventions 138 and 182.
• Development of National Hazardous Activity Decrees and Frameworks.
• Articulation of National Action Plans for Child Labour Elimination.
• Establishment of cross-sectoral, multi-stakeholder coordination platforms.
• Commitment to child labour monitoring and national surveys.
• Sector reforms that benefit farmers.
Progress to date
Increased commitments from the cocoa industry
• Concern for lowest-tiers in supply-chain. • Sustainability targets (including certification). • Increasing resources for sustainability, social
development and child labour mitigation.
Progress to date
Positive impact on child education
In ICI-supported
communities, from 2007
to 2011, school enrolment
increased by :
24% in Ghana.
16% in Côte d'Ivoire.
Progress to date
In 31 communities in Adamsi South, Ghana, community-based activities lifted primary school enrolment to 97%, and boosted school attendance from 50% to 85%.
Progress to date
Real reductions in child labour
Bas Sassandra, Côte d'Ivoire, over 18 months • Children spraying pesticides: 97% reduced. • Children carrying excessive loads: 84% reduced. • Children using heavy machetes: 63% reduced.
Côte d'Ivoire
Wassa Amenfi West, Ghana, over 18 months • Children spraying pesticides: 97% reduced. • Children carrying excessive loads: 88% reduced. • Children using heavy machetes: 94% reduced.
Ghana
Progress to date
Spreading detailed knowledge and understanding
Remaining challenges
• Moving from definitions to common operational supply-chain standards.
• Developing tools and capacities to implement standards.
Matching the resources to the scale
• Shared responsibility defining roles and burdenshare.
• Tapping development funding: child labour = development failure.
• Building partnerships.
• "Investing back" for sustainability: taxation revenues & commercial profits.
• Passing costs to consumers?
• Ensuring efficiency through coordination and best practice.
Remaining challenges
Managing child labour risks as part of responsible supply-chain management
• Know your supply chain (down to lowest tiers/smallholders and workers).
• Understand and identify the child labour risks. • Manage those risks responsibly
(prevention, remediation, referral / advocacy). • Monitoring / Compliance Remediation / Assistance
Remaining challenges
Cocoa: from a sector in crisis to a model sector?
• Ageing farmers, predicted supply deficit, social challenges, reputational risks.
• Vast potential for change. Engaged industry, engaged
origins.
Production concentration.
Multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Sustainability win-wins.
• Child labour as a composite sustainability indicator.
Remaining challenges
Large volumes • Coverage and leverage.
Buying from/selling to many • Supply-chain penetration.
Responding to client demand • Translating manufacturers'
consumer commitments into supply chain action (e.g. certification, quality, social responsibility).
Direct interface with producers and intermediaries • Organising and training farmers
(e.g. coops). Agro-social win-wins. • Influencing middle-men (supply-
chain standards, traceability, efficiency).
Challenges for traders/suppliers
Not consumer facing
• Harder to justify investments in child labour mitigation to shareholders.
• In absence of client demand, tests commitment to child labour risk-management on basis of:
respecting and supporting child/human rights, and
securing sustainable supply and longevity of profits.
Challenges for traders/suppliers
Cost/market share dilemmas
• Effective child labour mitigation is not resource-neutral (in short-term). • If consumers or clients don't pay (e.g. premiums), responsible supply-chains may
become less competitive. Investor does not benefit. • Crowded, multi-layered, fragmented & liberalised supply-chains most vulnerable. • Importance of pre-competitive approach and level-playing field.
National standards/industry standards (ICI/CEN).
Challenges for traders/suppliers
• Research Child labour causality and good practice.
• Awareness-raising and training Child labour definitions, child protection,
standards, responses. Community mobilisation (Community
Action Plans, Community Child Protection Committees, community/government resources).
• Access to quality education School construction/rehabilitation/
equipment/teachers. Formal and non-formal education,
vocational training for youth.
• Livelihood support Farmer-field schools, extension, inputs.
• Basic services Health, water, sanitation.
ICI's work
Nestlé case study Responsible management of child labour risks in the cocoa supply chain
ICI's work
• Standardised training of all supply-chain actors
Nestlé and first-tier suppliers (ADM, Cargill, Olam, Noble). Certified co-operatives. Farmers and cocoa-growing communities (+ local authorities).
• Injection of child labour capacity and responsibility Child Labour Agent (CLA) in coop management structure. Community Liaison Officer (CLO) at producer level.
• Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System CLO monitors farms, identifies at-risk individuals/households, reports to coop. CLA validates CLO reports, follows-up cases, allocates remediation funds,
reports to supplier.
• Strengthening of existing certification models (UTZ, Fair Trade) Revision of standards. Expanded training. More regular and reliable farm-level monitoring (remediation link).
Nestlé case study
• ICI is funded through members' annual contributions (category/metric tons of cocoa usage).
Core technical and advisory capacity. Influencing and advocacy (national/international
policies). Community development and child protection
activities in 400 communities.
• Service-provision and company-specific
projects for members, funded separately. • ICI is actively seeking additional traders and
logistics companies to join.
Expansion of supply-chain improvements and business-oriented innovations.
Inclusive, sector-wide, standardised, pre-competitive protection of children.
Partnering with traders/suppliers
Thank You
For all ICI's activities and results: www.cocoainitiative.org Partnership enquiries: [email protected]
Thank you!