284,000 children work in hazardous conditions on West Africa's cocoa farms

29 July 2002


Around 284,000 children work in hazardous conditions in West Africa's cocoa industry, and some 2,500 may have been trafficked, a new report says.

The report, released on 26 July, is the first comprehensive report to examine child labour on cocoa farms in West Africa. It examined child labour on 1,500 cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, which collectively produce 70 per cent of the world's cocoa.

Researchers found the majority of children working on the farms were under-14 and had no access to education. For many, the work was extremely dangerous involving spraying pesticides, using machetes and carrying heavy loads. The report also found that children who were recruited by intermediaries rather than working with or via their families, were more likely to be at risk of exploitation. Some 2,500 are recruited - in many cases believed to be trafficked - to work in Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria.

The report was commissioned as part of the Protocol for the Growing and Processing of Cocoa Beans and their Derivative Products, signed in September 2001 between the US Congress, international chocolate industry and NGOs including Anti-Slavery International's sister organisation, Free the Slaves.

Pressure from organisations like Anti-Slavery and increased public attention on the issue of child trafficking and forced labour on cocoa farms has persuaded the international chocolate industry to take action on this issue.It is crucial that measures taken to stop this abuse also prevent children and adults from being forced into slavery in other sectors.

The research was conducted by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and had support from the US Agency for International Development, US Department of Labor, World Cocoa Foundation, International Labour Organization and participating West African governments.

This article can be seen in it's original format at http://www.antislavery.org/homepage/news/cocoareport290702.htm