Print This PageRespecting Communities and People
Issue Discussion: Child Labor in Agriculture
The problem of child labor first became apparent during the era of industrialization in Europe and North America. It is an element of the poverty trap. Child labor is part of the bargain that resource-poor people have been “forced to make in order to achieve a degree of immediate security,” according to the International Labor Office of the United Nations.10
Although
significant progress has been made over the past century in combating child
labor worldwide, it is still a problem in many developing countries. Almost
14 percent of children aged 5 to 14 — more than 165 million children — are
laborers worldwide. Among these, 70 percent work in agriculture.10
Nowhere is this situation more evident than in India. Each year, millions of children under 14 years old are forced to work as laborers in India illegally.11 According to the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., 90 percent of these children work in rural family settings, and “nearly 85 percent are engaged in traditional agricultural activities.”11 They work long hours with no food or rest, earn low wages, and are deprived of their right to an education and a future.
Solving the complex socioeconomic problem of child labor requires sustained commitments from employers, governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Monsanto Company took a hard look at this challenging area and adopted a policy to protect human rights.9 Since the policy adoption in April 2006, we have been assessing areas where risks of policy violations may exist and addressing those risks as they arise. In India, we identified risks due to the use of child labor by third-party contractors in hybrid cotton seed-production fields. Many of these contractors did not understand the negative effects of employing children as laborers.
Monsanto employees began a phased program to ensure compliance with the company’s human rights policy, to raise awareness about the negative effects of child labor, and to provide contractors with strategies that would allow them to continue to be productive without child labor.
Percent of Child Labor Found in Monsanto Supplier Work Forces Producing Hybrid Cotton Seed in India
Beginning in 2005, clauses prohibiting child labor were included in contracts with all of our first-phase business partners (suppliers of direct goods) in the Indian hybrid cottonseed business. All hybrid cotton business partners and about 2,500 farmers received training and materials. In addition, through incentives, cottonseed farmers benefited by $160 an acre for complying with the no-child-labor program. This permitted them to afford adult labor.
To ensure compliance with the new contracts, Monsanto introduced an audit program that includes both internal and external third-party auditors. By the end of the 2007 growing season, all business partners and farmers will have been audited.
This effort is ongoing and the results are encouraging. The percentage of children making up the work force among our direct-goods suppliers was reduced — from 20 percent in 2004 to 5 percent in 2006. Further progress is expected in 2007.
This program has the potential to contribute to the future economic welfare of communities throughout India. Increased education and practical strategies enable employers to be productive without using children as laborers. As children are removed from the fields and progress is made with educational programs through the efforts of the Monsanto Fund and other philanthropic organizations, children will be better protected from abuse. They will be allowed to play, learn, and enjoy their childhood, exercising their fundamental rights to an education and a future.
