The climate crisis has had evident detrimental effects on agricultural production worldwide. Available data does not suggest that climatic shocks will generally lead to either an increase or a decrease in child labour. However, where such events do affect child labour, they are more likely to increase its incidence rather than decrease it.
Photo by Gyan Shahane on Unsplash.
María Florencia Amigó, Alberto Posso, Simon Feeny, and FAO staff members Adriano Bolchini, Ariane Genthon, Sibyl Nelson, Alessandro Spairani, Emily Nicole Tanganelli, and Julia Wolf
“Adapting to climate change and eliminating child labour in agriculture share the common feature of requiring dramatic changes in food and agricultural systems, especially as the increased intensity and frequency of climate risks will put at risk more children and increase child labour patterns. It is critical to protect and empower the new generations that will be on the frontlines of the climate battle in the near future.”
Julia Wolf, Natural Resources Officer (Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO))
Climate change-related shocks and slow-onset events have had evident detrimental effects on agricultural production worldwide, affecting the food security, living conditions, and life prospects of millions of farming families, with children becoming particularly vulnerable. However, existing research is yet to fully uncover the extent to which the irreversible effect of environmental degradation is further pushing vulnerable agrarian families to become functionally or economically dependent on the labour contribution of their children. Thus, understanding the nexus between climate-related shocks and child labour in agriculture is crucial for providing evidence-based policy recommendations to governments and civil society.
Driven by the need to address the lack of available granular information on child labour in agriculture, in December 2020, and as part of their Framework on Ending Child Labour in Agriculture (2020), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) commissioned RMIT University in Australia to undertake a global case study on the relationship between climate-change related impacts and child labour. Four countries were chosen, based on geographic coverage and data availability—Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Peru. Using the latest available econometric techniques, researchers used recently collected household-level data for each country coupled with detailed information on shocks causing floods and droughts, to uncover the causal relationship between experiencing a climate-change related impact and child labour in each country. The quantitative analysis was supported by qualitative data sourced from interviews with fifteen experts on labour, child labour, agriculture, or climate change in the four countries.
A characteristic of the four countries studied is that subsistence farming still dominates agrarian landscapes. Much of agriculture is practised through small landholdings that have no (or limited) access to modern technologies, and therefore children become key players in the provision of cheap and readily available labour for the sustenance of their households. Poor productivity, no surplus, lack of participation in the formal economy, and lack of access to credit and markets, have long been a feature of these small agrarian units. In these contexts, climate change is severely impairing these already vulnerable livelihoods, with droughts, floods and pests becoming increasingly more frequent and having devastating effects on agricultural production. With no safety nets to mitigate the effects of loss of produce or deterioration of the land, children can become particularly disadvantaged due to the need for them to further assist with the household’s survival to the detriment of schooling, their health, and wellbeing.
The econometric analysis based on available data allowed the research team to account for a long list of determinants of child labour, including policy-relevant determinants, such as access to social protection frameworks. That is, the analysis allowed an understanding of the effect of shocks on the average household irrespective of whether they receive government support, have access to credit, or where they live. Findings are summarised in the table below.
Shock and Slow On-set Event/Change in child labour
Ethiopia
Peru
Nepal
Côte d’Ivoire
Experiencing a flood
Overall incidence
⬆
–
⬇
Incidence for boys
Incidence for girls
Experiencing a drought
“⬆” denotes a statistically significant and positive effect.
“⬇” denotes a statistically significant and negative effect.
“–” denotes a statistically insignificant relationship.
Findings vary both by country and child gender. As a result, we cannot conclude that climatic shocks associated with climate change will generally lead to either an increase or a decrease in child labour of either boys and girls. In this regard, context is very important. Indeed, we would expect significant heterogeneity in the findings within each country. The team concluded that, from the list of shocks and slow on-set events, not all are associated with climate change-related impacts on child labour. However, where shocks and slow on-set events are identified to affect child labour, they are more likely to increase its incidence rather than decrease it. Also, different shocks affect child labour differently in different countries. Further, child gender matters.
In the contexts where there is an increase in child labour during a climate crisis, this can take many forms. Besides an intensification of producing-related activities such as fetching water or taking livestock further away for food or water, there can be an intensification of household chores and childcare of younger siblings to allow parents to seek paid work. In extreme cases, child labour during a climate crisis can be associated with displacement and migration, where children may need to get involved in paid work outside the family unit.
Seventy percent of child labour occurs in the agricultural sector and climate change is disproportionally affecting agricultural livelihoods: this sector should therefore lead policies in this domain. The research team identified climate adaptation strategies that could mitigate the effects of climate shocks on vulnerable households, as well as social policies that should be considered in conjunction with them.
The adoption of drought and flood-resistant seeds can improve the resilience of farming units. Improved farm infrastructure can assist with water collection and improved storage for both water and crops, as well as help in preventing floods. Increased mechanization and alternatives to hazardous pesticides can improve productivity, and land use policies can help reduce deforestation and degradation. Early climate information systems can allow farmers to better adapt their strategies to minimise the effect of future climate related shocks. Such schemes would assist with the economic survival of households and thus deter children from engaging in more work.
Social protection policies can also play a significant role in ensuring households have adequate income and access to basic services during climate related shocks. In parallel, schools can be key in providing refuge and meals during crises to retain enrolments, but also in improving education around climate change and sustainable farming. In relation to this, it is important to give back value to the transformative potential that quality education can have for children, their families, and the wider community.
A starting point to raise awareness around child labour in agriculture and better advocate for policy in this area is to improve the data available, properly disaggregating it by sector, age, gender, tasks, and region. The Durban Call to Action adopted in May at the end of the Fifth Global Conference on Child Labour represents a momentum to take action: it marked a breakthrough for FAO’s longstanding work on addressing child labour in agriculture. Integrating child labour consideration into climate action plans is herewith identified as one of the key programmatic responses, while ending hazardous child labour in agriculture ranks as the second top priority. FAO is committed to help translate this call into action.