Upscaling impact on child labour in agriculture

So, good morning again. Bonjour. Buenos dias. Assalamualaikum.

Welcome to this high level session on accelerating impact on child labor in agriculture. My name is Maria Lee. I am a socioeconomist and child labor in agriculture specialist working at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United nations, the fao. And I'm really pleased and honored to be moderating this session. As a reminder for the audience, if you want interpretation, we have interpretation in four languages.

French, Spanish, English and Arabic. And if you need, you have, you can get the equipment for interpretation at the entrance of the room. So if you need that, we will have speakers in Spanish, in French and in English. If you need, please collect it now.

So just a few words before we start about why we are here today. And I'm going to repeat what we heard in the opening ceremony. But we know that repetition is key to focus our attention. And so as you know, they target 8.7 to end all forms of child labor by 2025. So last year was not achieved.

And we still have globally 138 million children engaged in child labor today, the majority being in agriculture, about 61%. And this is why this session is so important. And we will hear more about those estimates and digging into what the data shows on child labor and agriculture with the keynote presentation. But behind those numbers, let's keep in mind that there are girls and boys whose childhood education, health and safety a compromise. So to reflect on also who we are here for, we wanted to share a short video.

Ask my colleague and we will see this short video.

Sam.

Thank you. So the session will really focus on solutions and we will hear from our speakers who are coming from different parts of the world on practical solutions that can be scaled up to end child labor and agriculture. But we also wanted to have your insights because there is in this room a diversity of organizations and individuals who are part of making this end of child labor happen. So we just wanted to propose to you, if you want to scan this QR code and tell us in one or two words what do you think is priority to accelerate progress to end child labor in agriculture so you can have this QR code and we will then see what are some of the results that can also enrich our, our contribution.

Yeah, let's, let's see live what is the inspiration of the.

And you will hear from our speakers that some of the solutions and priorities that you mentioned are actually already translated into practice through some of those initiatives. So thank you so much. Now I'm going to switch to French Pour invite.

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Directly with producers on prevention of child labor in agriculture. So I'm just going to ask my colleague. Yeah, Merci.

Yeah. As you see, involving producers is really crucial and part of the solution. And we will talk more about this approach, but also other integrated approach. But before we dive into solutions, we wanted to take a step back and just remember what are the latest data on on child labor in agriculture, based on the global estimates that were released last year by the ILO and the unicef. And so for that purpose, I would like to invite Mr. Benjamin Davis, Director of the Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division at the fao, to come and present what the global trends show in terms of traffic, labor and agriculture.

What are some of the risk factors determinants of child labor and agriculture, but also share a few innovative approaches that we believe can also inspire you and inspire the countries. So over to you, Mr. Davis.

Thank you very much, Maria. And it's a pleasure to be here today with with everyone and really for one of the first sessions of the 6th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child labor and here focusing on child labor and agriculture. So we wanted to open it, as Maria said, with information on what we know about child labor and agriculture. The data confirmed that we want to eliminate child labor globally. We need to attend achieve a breakthrough in agriculture.

And as we will discuss in this session, it is thus fundamental that the outcome of this conference be a further prioritization of the agricultural sector of action. In the agricultural sector, the latest global evidence is clear. Agriculture remains the single largest source of child labor worldwide. According to the ILO UNICEF Global Global estimates of child labor in 2024, as we heard this morning, 61% of all children in child labor, which is around 83 million girls and boys aged 5 to 17 are working in agriculture now. While the share in agriculture has declined from about 70% in 2020 to 61% in 2024, agriculture remains by far the most most dominant sector.

This share reduces with age. Among children age 5 to 11 engaged in child labor, 68% work in agriculture compared to 61% of children aged 12 to 14 and 41% of children aged 15 to 17.

Now. Across all regions, agriculture continues to be the sector with the highest prevalence of child labor. In Sub Saharan Africa, around 7 out of 10 children in child labor are engaged in agriculture. In the other regions of the developing world, between 40 and 50% of children in child labor are engaged in agriculture. So in every region it continues to be the dominant sector.

Now, child labor and agriculture is found primarily in family based and small scale production systems. However, child labor is found across all types of farms and farm sizes. This includes assistance, agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture as well as large scale plantations. It incurs in labor intensive production systems such as those growing coffee and cacao, which are characterized by a combination of limited mechanization, low skilled and repetitive tasks and informality. In a context of more limited access to education.

Across all subsectors of agriculture, children's work is seasonal and closely tied to peak demand periods. This can lead to irregular school attendance, especially during the harvest period, major fishing seasons or times of high labor demand in livestock production. Agriculture also accounts for the largest absolute number of children and hazardous child labor. 1 out of 3 children in child labor and agriculture approximately 25 million children are engaged in hazardous work and this includes exposure to dangerous tools, heavy loads, pesticides, unsafe water environments and extreme heat, risks that are often invisible but deeply harmful. Now, child labor and agriculture is driven by structural and compounding vulnerability vulnerabilities.

Child labor and agriculture is significantly more prevalent among the poorest rural households, particularly though in the lowest expenditure quintiles. At the same times, rural areas tend to have fewer schools, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of trained teachers and long travel distances or generally poorer access to education. This tends to push children into child labor simply because there are limited or no alternatives. From a gender perspective, the proportion of children below 15 contributing to family activities for cropping activity is higher when families when households are made up of female adults only socio cultural gender norms which shape expected roles for men, women, boys and girls can influence children's involvement in agricultural work. Beyond labor shortages, girls may often take domestic and farm tasks aligned with gendered expectations, while boys are often assigned activities that are seen as male like cattle herding or pesticides application.

These norms can create or reinforce demand for child labor even when adult labor is available. We also know that indigenous and Afro descended communities are more exposed to the root causes of child labor and agriculture and including poverty and extreme poverty rates. For countries where data exists, child labor incidence is higher in these groups. The global estimates further show that child labor prevalence in all sectors is more than four times higher in conflict afflicted areas than in non conflict areas, 21% compared to 5%.

Lastly, climate change is emerging as a powerful risk multiplier within this picture. As we heard this morning from the head of ilo, evidence from a recent FAO study shows that climate shocks such as flood, drought and heat stress lead to yield loss, deepen rural poverty, increase households reliance on child's labor as a coping strategy. Empirical analysis indicates that children's working time in agriculture increases with exposure to extreme heat, pushing many beyond what is considered light work. Climate change also increases exposure to hazardous conditions including heat stress, agrochemical use and unsafe working conditions, reinforcing the link between climate vulnerability and hazardous child labor in agriculture. Now, aggressing child labor in agriculture requires broad economic growth inside and outside of agriculture first and foremost.

And I don't want to forget the big big picture but also specifically climate responsive rural development strategies protect both families, livelihoods and children. This is why FAO is co implementing with the ilo, UNICEF and the itc. The EU funded Clear Supply Chains Project on ending Child labor in supply chains with the focus on the coffee sector of Uganda and Honduras.

Through this project, FIO is strengthening the livelihoods and climate resilience of small scale coffee farmers to reduce their reliance on child labor as a coping mechanism. For example, we work with indigenous peoples in Honduras to turn coffee pulp into organic fertilizers, reducing reliance on pesticides which are hazardous to children, damage the environment and are more expensive for families. In parallel, together with cooperatives we are introducing labor saving technologies to reduce reduce labor demand for children during coffee harvesting. These and other support measures build upon another EU funded program co implemented with the ilo up until 2023 which is the Clear Cotton Project focusing on the cotton sector of Burkina Faso, Mali and Pakistan.

Now, the integration of child labor prevention into agricultural investments and and policies is essential to scale up and institutionalize these approaches, ensuring that they move beyond isolated successes to more systematic systemic changes to that end, we're working with the World bank and we're strengthening our joint effort on integrating a child labor lens into agricultural investments, enhancing the safeguards, accountability and impact of programs. Such efforts will be presented tomorrow afternoon during a policy clinic organized by the FAA and the World Bank. In 2025, FAO and ILO launched the updated Policy Guidance on the Elimination of Child labor in Fisheries and Aquaculture. This guidance provides a framework to support sustainable fisheries and aquaculture while upholding child's rights and well being. All of these efforts clearly show the value of partnerships, a joint and integrated approach among the eu, UN agencies and and community level actors, fostering impact by complementing respective comparative advantages.

This is the way we can pursue we shall pursue and upscale the last consideration relates to data availability on child labor and agriculture. While the global estimates and national survey data provide an important foundation, large data gaps remain, particularly in disaggregated data and particularly in remote rural areas and across agricultural sub sectors. A reason for this is that the direct observation of child labor in remote and informal rural settings is inherently challenging and to overcome this we're developing innovative digital tools that complement traditional data collection. One Example is the DigiChild initiative. Developed with a range of partners.

DigiChild is a child labor risk estimation index in agri food systems. Based on high resolution georeferenced data, this index can support governments, companies and development partners to better target policies and early actions, strengthen due diligence and improve program accountability along agri food value chains. Tomorrow, DigiChild will be showcased during the Innovation Fair and through the Policy Clinic on Agricultural Investments, illustrating how digital innovation can help us move from data scarcity to data driven prevention.

So in conclusion, against all of this evidence and innovative practices, the implications for this conference are clear. The Durbin Call to Action already identified agriculture as a as a priority sector. This was an important step forward. The most recent data reinforced the urgency that this prioritization be translated into clear commitments. Scaled up investment and and systematic monitoring of implementation.

Integrated approaches linking social protection, decent work for adults, quality, real education, safe and climate, smart agricultural practices and responsible investment are essential if we want to move from commitment to impact. The outcome document of this conference must therefore explicitly prioritize agriculture. The next global conference on the Elimination of Child labor will take place in 2030, when the International community will revisit and hopefully renew the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet we meet at a time of uncertainty for international cooperation and development financing. In this context, the outcome of this conference is our best opportunity to ensure that child labor, especially in agriculture remains firmly on the international agenda.

If we want lasting progress, agriculture must stay at the center of that agenda because. Because this is where child labor is most prevalent and most persistent. So I look forward to the rich and inspiring discussion and I thank you for your attention.

Thank you, Mr. Davis.

So I think our ambition is clear. The ambition we have is to end all forms of child labor and making sure that because the majority is in agriculture, there is a really push in that sector, but how we can achieve this outcome. So this is where we're going to have our panel. So I'm going to invite the first panelist to join me on the stage to talk about integrated solutions with a focus on policies and investments. So I would like to invite Mr. Jost Coitmans, senior Social Development specialist, specialist at the World bank, to join me.

Ms. Cecil Huertas, sustainability labels and schemes expert in FAO. We can make a little. Exactly. And Ms. Marlen Mazariegos, representative of the employers group in Guatemala. Pleased.

So, thank you so much for joining us and traveling all the way to Marrakech with us. So we would like to start exploring the role of the private sector and investments in this question of how we eliminate and prevent child labor and agriculture. So I would like to maybe start with Mr. Koizman Yoast. Okay. I would like to start with you, Jost, if you wish.

If you could share with us how the World bank is actually integrating and tackling child labor and agriculture within its portfolio. Over to you. Thank you. Can you hear me?

Hello? Yes. Yes. Okay. Well, thanks for inviting me.

And it's exciting to be here. So I just wanted to explain a little bit. So what the world.

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Yeah. Oh, I have to almost eat it. So, yeah, so just thank you for inviting me and. And excited to be here. So I don't have much time, but I do want to explain a little bit about what is the role of international financial institutions such as the World Bank.

Just to give you an idea. I think you really need your story. You really need to. I need to glue it to you like glue, unfortunately, to make sure everybody. Can hear or maybe they can turn up the volume anyway, so I'll just stick it to my chin.

That's perfect.

So I wanted to get. Give you an idea about what is the role of IFIs and how can they impact child labor in agriculture. So to give you a little bit of an idea. So the World bank in 2023 invested about $6 billion in agricultural investments across the World that's for sovereign lending.

That's lending from the bank to governments to implement projects in agricultural sector. The bank also has a private lending arm called the International Finance Corporation and that had lent an additional one and a half billion dollars to the private sector to, you know, agricultural companies and buying corporations across the the world. So it's significant. But if you then keep in mind that the World bank and the IFC are only one international financial institution. There are other multilateral development banks, the African bank, the Asian bank, and they are sometimes even bigger than the World Bank.

So if you think about all the investment, the financing investment that goes into agriculture across the globe, it's very significant and it makes a big difference. It can make a big difference for a difference for countries. So for example, the IFC invested $100 million in agribusiness in Ghana to liquefy, to sort of to invest in liquidity for, for buying corporations. And that directly infects the small scale, the small holders that are providing, you know, cocoa into the supply chain. And so these things can potentially make a very big difference.

So I just want to focus very quickly on two aspects of that think are important to explain. How can we, how can we, you know, mobilize this finance to make an impact on child labor? So the first one is internal within the projects that the bank finances in agriculture and also in other sectors. And that is that the bank, so both the World bank and the IFC have accountability systems, environmental and social accountability systems that also set a lot of standards for how we deal, how we manage labor in the projects. And those standards require a minimum age that follows the ILO standard.

It's a robust age verification system to make sure that we don't have children joining the project workforce that are too young. Occupational safety and health requirements that are also important to provide safe work for young workers who are below 18, perhaps in projects. And we have complaints procedures that we can then link to national referral systems to deal with cases of child labor. These are just some of the examples that we have. And so there are robust standards in place to make sure that within the projects child labor is prevented.

And of course there are sometimes incidents, especially when we are in fragile environments. So we also need to be able to deal with those, you know, when something occurs. And so we do have, you know, procedures in place to, you know, with protocols and projects to know what to do. And also if we have contractors that implement parts of a project or we have suppliers that cannot comply with our requirements, then we phase them out. So there's a very clear intra project system that prevents or tries to prevent child labor and I think is, you know, often quite, quite effective.

But really does that really impact, you know, the general national system to strengthen, you know, to, you know, to fight child labor? That I think is an additional step and we've developed some really innovative work to see how we can do that because projects usually last five, six years and, and then they move on. And so whatever work you do in the project is almost finite in that way. And we do have an ambition to leave something more long lasting for the client countries. And then so what we've done is we've thought about this and we've piloted an approach now across a number of countries in West Africa and that is a portfolio approach.

So we take all the projects in a country and sometimes there are like 70, 80 projects and we roll out this child labor lens across these projects and that means a very robust risk screening so that we know exactly, you know, what the risks are within the project. Which then leads us to a menu for mitigation and we roll that out across the project. So if you roll that out across all projects in a high prevalence area, then you can really start to set, set aside mitigation resources within these projects that can support, you know, national efforts to combat child labor, national child labor action plans, you know, labor inspection services, there's many, many different acts of social welfare ministries and district offices, you know, when it comes to more district level work. So what we are now trying to do and what we, you know, are hopefully going to talk more about tomorrow in the policy clinic that Mr. Davis already referred to is to show you a little bit more about how we can make a more concerted impact across projects. And I think that that is really the way forward.

I think maybe in the other questions we could talk a little bit more about that later on in this session. But I think that's the key that we can move beyond projects into really supporting national systems and strengthening them. Thank you.

Thank you. Yossen.

Yeah, we will come back to this with maybe some lessons that you can share for other organizations that we want to take this portfolio approach. As you mentioned, I'm going to switch to French to ask you also the question on the also looking at the private sector, National.

Development, Sustained food, General.

We're going to move now to Guatemala with the perspective of employers and we're going to switch to Spanish with Marlon and I'm going to try to ask the question in Spanish actually. Marlon Pudria Compartil conosotros un engemplo concreto de colaboracion entre in playadors. Yo tras partes interesadas para abordar el travajo infantil en la agricultura Marlin.

Las organizationes empresariales y las empresas agro industriales miempros de camaran de lagro de Guatemala que support.

Muchas gracias, Marlene. And I think before we go into some lessons learned, I just want for everybody to keep in mind these are really initiatives that are interesting because the trying to move from individual initiatives to scaled up transformation, whether it is through investments that lead to also mitigation approaches, whether it is through sustainability standards, whether it is through network of enterprises, but also connecting different actors, including education, international organizations. So for me these are really incredible experiences that can accelerate progress. So I just wanted quickly for each of you to also share one lesson from this initiative that you've been presenting that is important to keep in mind if other organizations or countries would like to support such initiative. And so what would be really like one or two lessons learned quickly.

And I would start maybe with Cecile.

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Gracias Marlene Jost. What would be your lesson from the work that the World bank has been done doing? Yeah. Yes, thanks. So as I explained, so what we are trying to do is to, you know, lift the impact of projects, you know, to really strengthen the national system.

So we can't stop at the project fence. But you know, this is. How do we do that? So we have, for example, one example I want to give you is a tree crop project from Ghana where we really got in early. We developed the whole system, you know, to strengthen the network national system, to work with the National Action Plan and National Committee.

And we were able, you know, with the agreement of the borrower, to set aside $8 million to do this work, which is a significant amount in the world of child labor. But the only. So the lesson number one is the only way we can do this if we get in there early, because you can only do these things when you design the project, when you can build in these kinds of resource allocations. Once a project is already underway and the budget's already agreed, it's very difficult to make these kinds of impacts. So we really need to make sure that we get in there early.

I think that's lesson number one. Lesson number two is we have value chains in projects. They often are a liability to the projects. But I think we need to change the mindset and to see that they are really also, you know, change makers. And you got in the example of Cecile from the Moroccan, the Morocco example, you can see that they actually want to contribute to these kinds of projects.

And I think that that's another key lesson that we can really harness some of that know how and willingness to make an impact. So thank you. Thank you, Jost. So a final word and then we move to the second panel on what would be one action, one priority action that you think countries should prioritize to maybe take on some, some of your initiatives, but to make these policies and investments more effective in addressing child labor and agriculture. What would be your priority?

In one short answer, one minute. So I'm giving the floor maybe back to Marlene.

Muchas gracias, Maria. Insisto.

Rurales, Last word to you, priority. Thank you.

So I think what's totally key for everyone in this room is to know how to engage with not only the bank, but with those that borrow from the bank. Because agriculture projects are mostly implemented by ministries of agriculture and they are not always the logical interlocutor for people who work in the field of labor. And so it's very important, especially in the early design, as I said before, of a project that we engage.

And so there's stakeholder engagement mechanisms that the bank has and so on. But it's really important to start that dialogue about what can be done in these projects to really build capacity in the country very early on. And so you need to know who to speak to, who is the implementing agency. All of this information is enclosed if you want to know more about it. We can always talk later, but engage with very early and engage with the appropriate implementer of the project.

Thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you to you 3. I think we can, we will move to the second panel. We will continue talking about integrated approaches, but looking closely into initiatives at the community level.

Even though some of the panelists did talk about that, we talked about integrated traceability, cooperation, engaging Ministry of Agriculture and other agricultural stakeholders. But before I invite my next three panelists, I would like to share with you a video that we have from actually the project that Mr. Davis introduced during, during his keynote presentation. It's a clear supply chain initiative. And this is a video from the activities that are implemented in Uganda. So just as a reminder, this is an EU funded project co implemented by fao, ilo, UNICEF and the International Trade Center.

So a good approach to joint collaboration for a project. It applies an integrated Area based approach focusing on the coffee value chain. And over to my colleague for the video.

In the Kalungu and Manafa districts of Uganda, coffee farming is a key source of income for many families. Yet economic vulnerability and limited livelihood alternatives continue to expose children in coffee producing communities to the risk of child labor, often at the expense of their education and well being. Globally, agriculture accounts for the majority of child labor in coffee growing communities. Low mechanization, low farm get prices and climate pressures increase the risk that children are drawn into hazardous work. It has been a cancer for us.

In the sense that children would be denied time to go to school, to acquire education, to be children and actually to prepare for their future. Through the Clear Supply Chains project funded by the European Union, FAL and its partners are working with communities, local authorities and farmers organizations to tackle the root causes of child labor in Uganda's coffee sector. The focus is on building inclusive child labour free agri food systems by strengthening prevention mechanisms, improving livelihoods and reinforcing links between agriculture, social protection and education systems so that children are protected from hazardous work and can fully access their right to education. In some cases, children may be involved in agriculture tasks that expose them to fertilizers or pesticides. Such exposure can have serious health consequences.

For farmers. Change begins with cefr climate, smart agricultural practices and income diversification. Access to mechanization, social protection and stronger organizations. By strengthening the resilience of these farmers, it helps to take away the pressure that forces these households to actually use their children for hazardous tasks.

Strengthening community based child protection systems is central to preventing child labor, ensuring risks are identified early and children are protected. We train different partial workers around 175 partial workers in the district to ensure that each village will have someone whom we can contact to ensure that childless labor related issue is addressed.

The farmers had not really understood the concept child and elimination of child labor well. They thought that eliminating child labor would actually mean losing labor. But through the different approaches taken by the farmer FE administrators in the trainings, they have been able to identify that child labour is different from work. Prevention also begins in schools by empowering children, parents and teachers to recognize and speak out against child labour. Farm work leads to absenteeism and this one backslides the performance of the learner because they miss a lot when they are in the gardens.

The artwork that we had has helped the learners to differentiate between the activities that are supposed to be done as children and those activities that are supposed to be done by those people that have grown up. By aligning community action with national policy and private sector engagement. The project supports sustainable change across the copay supply chain. But at an operational level, the Ministry is very active through its inspection function to ensure there's compliance, especially in the workplaces. When you look at factories, farms, where there's likelihood for child labour to take place, there are always spot on inspections.

Then there's also hand holding where you build capacity. When families are economically secure, children can remain in school. Through coordinated action, Uganda's coffee sector can grow sustainable, sustainably, free from child labor and rooted in dignity, opportunity and hope for the next generation.

Nice music. I felt we could continue with the music, but anyway, we have something even more exciting from other countries than Uganda also continuing to inspire everybody. So I would like to invite the next three panelists to join me on stage. Mr. Baba Femi Oyewoli, the CEO of the Pan African Farmers Organization joining us from rwanda. Thank you.

Mr. Fabian Salgado, Coordinator of the Agrohoven program, but also researcher and professor at the National University of of Agriculture, joining us from Honduras. Thank you. And finally Mr. Mofolozi, Morocco Regional Occupational Health and Safety Officer from the International Union of Food Agriculture, Hotel Restaurants, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers association from South Africa. Thank you so much for traveling from, from so far and coming with us to share your experience. So we continue on the integrated initiatives so looking at how to address child labor in agriculture from different perspectives.

And I would like to start with the farmers organization perspective. So Mr. Oye Oli, could you share with us one initiative that presents how the Pan African Organization contributes and support its members in addressing tri labor and agriculture. Over to you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Maria.

And also want to thank the organizers for inviting Pan African Farmers Organization to be part of this discussion. Apart from maybe for some of you who don't know, no. PAO is a continental platform, the voice of African farmers representing over 80 million farmers across five regional networks and 80 national farmers organization in Africa in. In 50 countries in Africa. So we see it's a platform that also is committed to eradicating child.

One of the ways we are doing that is we have developed a policy on child labor which we are using to build the capacity of our members. You know, one of, one of, in the, in the video we just saw it was said that farmers are not even aware. They do not understand what it means to. I mean what chance child labor means because they see it as a part of the social services. They are the children runners.

Today I am a product of child labor because when, when I was Growing up in the after immediately you finish your school, you go back to the farm to work on the farm. So we, we need to build the awareness, we need to create the awareness for them so that they will understand that it is very important for the children to be in school. Also we are campaigning the use of school feeding to encourage the student to be in school because that's one of the ways that the children drop out of the school to go into the farm. So we are going into campaign among our members that they should particularly government. Also we are asking the government to be procuring the food products right from us as farmers rather than importing food product to feed the children.

So also we are company. We see one of the pillars of our strategic plan is farming as a business. We want our farmers to understand that farming is not a social activity, it is a business and it is making it a business that will enable them to improve their incomes and their livelihood and it is increasing their incomes and livelihood. That poverty will be reduced and they will be able to send their children to school. They will not have they put the pressure on the children to come to farm, but they will be able to give them an opportunity to, to go into school.

Also we are advocating for increased government investment in rural infrastructures to be able to create opportunities for the children in the. In the rural communities so that they will not face much better to come into the. To drop out of school or coming to the city to look for a job that are not that made them to be, be to. To be abused. Those are the initiative that we are doing as a farmers organization.

Thank you. Thank you so much Mr. Uyoli. And that was really like in a very short time talking about integrated approach linking, you know, incent incentives for children to stay in school, awareness raising, farming as a business to, to have income, rural investment in agriculture. So I think that's a good example of how a farmers organization can also support its members in this question. Thank you.

And we will move now to a different continent, to Honduras to also look at the perspective also the entry point of youth employment. So Fabian Podris compartil conosotros como el programa agrohoven apoyal travailo descente de los.

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Muchas gracias, Fabian. And indeed this question that was just raised on the migration of youth from rural areas is crucial and I don't think it's only on jurists in many countries and so how you create opportunities for youth to engage in Agriculture as entrepreneurs being attracted because there are introduction of technologies and making sure that while they're doing that work, it is done in a safe way and also in a sustainable way. So thank you for bringing this at this point and we will come back to also lessons learned. I'm Turning now to Mr. Muffolozi, Morocco. You have a long experience experience on this topic of child labor and agriculture.

So I think you can probably give us some of your perspective also of what you see are initiatives that are successful and need to be scaled up to address and prevent child labor and agriculture from your perspective. Over to you. Thank you.

Let me see. I don't know if there is a. Oops. Maybe it's just. Thank you. You know, I thought there might be some sabotage with this mic, but you came to my rescue.

I wish to preface my contribution by saying when we moved out of Durban, there was renewed hope that we are going to work very hard to eliminate child labor. All of us were so committed and I wish when we walk out of here we'll say child labor no more. And for us as trade unionists, we do work ensuring that there is decent work in the workplace. Why decent work? We ensure that there is a living wage by using collective bargaining.

And my colleague who are supposed to be on this platform today, a powerful young woman who was going to share with you experiences in Zimbabwe where the youth used collective bargaining to improve wages. And once those wages were improved, child labor on those farms was eliminated. And I think that have shown us that collective bargaining is critical. Secondly, she was going to share with you that in Zimbabwe they also used collective bargaining to engage with employers association to come up with child labor policy, which is now a policy in Zimbabwe, which is quite great, you know. And that shows the initiative that trade unions always will do.

But in the absence of recognition and respect of freedom of US association will make it difficult for trade unions to bring these changes. Because freedom of association is an enabling right. And in the absence of that enabling right, you won't have collective bargaining. And the achievements that we are seeing that are happening in elimination of child labor will be removed. Health and safety is a critical, critical component of decent work.

And we create structures as trade unions. Those structures, such as workers health and safety committees that are trade union driven are able to bring into risk assessment the issue of child labor. That when the employer does risk assessment, he also checks the that there is no child labor in the workplace. And if child labor is identified, then they make sure child labor is removed from the farms. And because of Poor labor inspectorate in most countries, either they are inadequate or non existent or under resourced.

We also develop a way of ensuring that these structures are able to able to report to the relevant department to say there are problems here around child labor. So there are so many innovative things that trade unions do. You may recall that in the code of good Practice which is in terms of Convention 184 which most countries have not given effect to Convention 184 in their legislation, what we have done done, we are promoting what they call outreach programs where it is difficult for inspectors to be there. We create a roving group of workers who will go around and identify problems around health and safety problems around child labor. So there are so many innovative things that we do as trade unionists.

Thank you so much Mr. Morukong and thank you indeed for, for kind of having a look back on the Durban call to action and four years ago and since then, you know what has happened. And I think it was said also by the Secretary General in the opening, you know, we don't want to go into more diagnosis. We want to move to impact and to action. And I think it's also important to remind ourselves that when we talk about producers there is also a the worker's perspective. And I think that the collective bargaining is a really important point.

So if we wanted to, you know, to beyond what you shared, you know, like incentivize those that are in the room or countries here to pick up on some of those good practices. I would like to ask each of you, you know, what is one of the lessons learned from the work that you have been doing that's really important for other countries organizations to understand if they want to consider a similar approach. And if you wish, I would like to start with you Fabianes Aprendides del program at Grohoven.

The lo limit.

Yeah, indeed. Moving from just being beneficiary to, to really empower the youth and so they're self confident into doing their work and making their own decision. Great points.

Mr. Mofalozi, Morocco I don't know if you have a message from Ms. Kamoto or your own message on what are some of the lessons that are important when we talk about workers role. When I spoke to my colleague, he said it is important to ask the conference to say workers and employers should collaborate in ensuring that workers are trained around the problems of child labor. And together they develop a mechanism of ensuring that even when they employ anybody, the workers are there to monitor that. Indeed people are employed very well. That's one point she wanted to share with this conference.

But above all, to request governments to solidify and intensify enforcement agencies to be able to inspect these workplaces. Because there are some, some of the employers who pays poor wages, who are not even prepared to comply with labor standards. And in so doing, child labor remains a problem in those workplaces. But if the inspectorate is strong enough, they will be able to work together, trade unions and employers to ensure that there is no child over there. That's the other suggestion that comes from him.

No, thank you. Working together, training, it's key.

Mr. Oyewole, what would be some of the lessons that you would like to share with the audience on the work that you all doing? Thank you very much. Again.

What we found out is that most of the time when policies and programs have been designed, farmers are not on the table. We are not always there to share our insights and to give our lived experiences that we guide the policymakers in incorporating those insights and experiences into the policies. And that is why most of the time the policies are not working, because those who are living out the issues are not involved. So we are advocating that farmers organizations should be considered as part of the implementing partners who will be at the table when these policies are being designed so that they can incorporate their own views and because they are the one who is going to implement it at the grassroots level. So it's one of the things that, based on our experiences, that policies are not working because the key stakeholders that are supposed to be part of the policy making process are not there.

So it's very important for us to be able to ensure that we are able to influence our members to understand the policy and to implement the policy. Thank you. Mr. Oyoli, you're almost answering your last question, but maybe this is a repetition and that's okay to repeat your call. But yeah, I think it's a great point. And I just wanted to remember that in the last conference, I think that was the first time that there was a high level session on child labor and agriculture this year.

So four years later, we have four different sessions that look at this issue. And so I think there is improvements on the engagement of agricultural stakeholders in the larger agenda. But indeed, I think it's important how this is translated then at the national level to have policymakers that involve workers, that, that involve youth, that involve producer organization in this topic. So as we coming close to the end of this session, this is maybe the. So this is the last question for you all.

If you had one priority action so Again, a very like clear one priority action that you would like, those that are here, but also maybe those that in particular represent some, some governments here, but also, you know, those that are reflecting on the final outcome document of this conference. What is the key call and priority action that you would like to share? Would you like to start?

One priority area for us is to ensure that all conventions that are not mentioned in the Deben Code, in particular Convention 184 is reflected that it is being promoted because it deals with safety and health in agriculture and people are being exposed to it, which lead to workers to be sick. And when once they are sick, they are unable to export earn a living because there is no social protection in most agricultural undertakings. And with exposure to this health and safety, then they will be forced to bring their children to work and that becomes a problem. So there is a need to promote Convention 184. Thank you, Fabian.

Muchas gracias. Mr. Oyewoli, the last word.

Thank you very much. One is, like my colleague said, social protection. There must be social protection from policies that we encourage that we mitigate the effect, particularly the climate change is a big, is a big issue now.

So. And the farmers don't have insurance policies and when their crops are destroyed, they lose everything. So we need government to put in place social protection policies that will mitigate the effect of climate change on farmers. Perfect. Thank you so much.

Thank you once again to all the, to the panelists. I'll invite you to go back as we close this session and really thank you for still being here, all of you, because we are very delayed. But I'm hoping that all of those initiatives that were presented are of inspiration to you. Before I give the floor for the closing remarks to the FAO representation representative of Morocco. I understand we have another initiative that quickly wanted to be presented and I think is a representative from Brazil who is in the room.

Just.

Yeah. Okay. So just like very briefly, Would you like a microphone maybe?

Buenos dias.

In la Basonia, Brasil de trabago infantil. Nosotros vos camozona estra propria.

Like spirinca de Brasil. Muchas gracias. Muynto obrigada. Yes. A key to having also subsectoral focuses to make sure the responses are tailored to the issue.

Thank you so much. I'd like now to call and maybe I'll switch to French. Monsieur Alexandre Wynne, le representant de la FAO Haumaroque.

Message.

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Coalition.

Undisputed to Talair Japansk.

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Montemonic exist Le Patenal exists.

Merci beaucoup.

I have mercy. Two last words before I let you go. First one again, thank you to the Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture to be here. Thank you to our panelists who again traveled from far and were able to hopefully inspire you. Thank you also to the team team of interpreters and the technical support because I think that made really a big difference and everything went well.

That was the first point. The second point is for those who want to continue to learn more about child labor in agriculture and other subsectors. This afternoon at 5pm there is an event on child labor in fisheries and aquaculture that is co organized by FAO and the ilo. Tomorrow morning we will have at the Innovation Fair a booth where you will learn more about the DG child that was presented at the beginning. So this digital tool that estimate risks at the community level and again tomorrow.

But in the afternoon at 4:30 with Jost and other colleagues, we will be having this very interactive, practical, hands on session on how to integrate child labor in agricultural investment. So you're also welcome to join us once again. Thank you. Merci Shukran. Muchas gracias.