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: n.perroud@cocoainitiative.org

Thank you!