Child labour
Child labour is work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally harmful to children, or interferes with their schooling, as defined by ILO Conventions No. 138 on minimum age and No. 182 on the worst forms. Not all work by children is child labour.
Also known as: hazardous child labour · worst forms of child labour
Why does it matter?
Agriculture is the sector where most child labour occurs, according to the ILO, and much of it is on family farms. For buyers, child labour is a severe human rights risk covered by human rights due diligence, by the CSDDD and, through labour and human rights law in the country of production, by the EUDR legality requirement.
How is it defined?
- Minimum age (ILO C138): national minimum ages for employment, with a higher age for hazardous work.
- Worst forms (ILO C182): slavery and forced labour, trafficking, and hazardous work likely to harm health, safety or morals.
- Hazardous work lists: each country defines tasks prohibited for children, which is what field monitoring checks against.
How is it addressed in first-mile supply chains?
Effective approaches identify children at risk at household level, remediate cases (school support, income support, removal from hazardous tasks) and follow up over time. A CLMRS is the most common model in cocoa. Root causes, including low farm income, school access and labour shortages, are addressed through prevention.
Common pitfalls
- Zero-tolerance policies that lead to hiding cases rather than remediating them.
- Counting identified cases without tracking whether remediation worked.
- Asking sensitive questions without trained staff, consent and a referral pathway.
Farmer1st supports case identification and follow-up through its human rights due diligence service.
Frequently asked questions
Is it child labour when children help on the family farm?
Not necessarily. Age-appropriate light tasks that do not harm health or interfere with school are generally not child labour. Hazardous tasks, such as carrying heavy loads, using machetes or handling agrochemicals, are, under ILO standards and national hazardous work lists.
How do companies identify child labour among smallholders?
Commonly through household-level monitoring such as a Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS), combining community facilitators, household visits and follow-up of identified cases.
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