A free distance course is now available to train key actors from the agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture sectors in reducing child labor.

The course is offered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) with the aim of providing the basic concepts related to child labor and strategies to reduce it.

The course allows to know forms of evaluation and data generation, coordination strategies of the main actors and concrete ways of incorporating this issue in agricultural policies and programs. 

It also offers training in the monitoring, evaluation and notification of child labor indicators, as well as in capacity building from an effective communication approach.

The course is offered for the first time in Spanish at FAO's Public Policy Training Center , and is the result of joint work with the ILO and the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

It is aimed at decision-makers in the rural and agricultural world, responsible for rural and agricultural development policies, and agricultural programs, research and information analysis.

It requires a dedication of 12 hours and grants an official certificate. Those interested in taking the course can do so here .

To complement the basic course, there are other specific courses in development. The first of them, is already available and addresses the management of pesticides and the prevention of child labor.

The risks faced by working children

According to the FAO Regional Representative, Julio Berdegué, child labor in agriculture can endanger the well-being of minors and reduce their possibilities for future development by reducing the time they can dedicate to education.

“Child labor perpetuates the cycle of poverty for the children involved, their families and communities. Without education, these children are likely to remain poor, ”explained Berdegué.

According to a study by the FAO and the ILO on child labor in agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean (2013), in the region 48 percent of children and adolescents who work do so in the agricultural sector, either for the home itself or for third parties.

“The eradication of child labor, especially in its worst forms, is a priority for ILO action in the region,” said José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ILO Regional Director for the Americas.

Many of the tasks performed by children are dangerous in nature: more than 39 percent work in inappropriate environmental conditions and 15 percent suffer from health problems associated with physical exhaustion or minor illnesses resulting from cuts or burns.

Make visible the risks and consequences of child labor

The new FAO and ILO training and awareness course seeks to support the institutional, public and private response to eradicate child labor in agriculture.

According to Salazar-Xirinachs, providing knowledge and improving the capacities of key actors in the rural and agricultural sector will allow offering alternatives for productive development and income for families without using child labor. Along these lines, FAO encourages agricultural personnel to contribute by providing technical solutions to the participation of boys and girls in the sector.

Making the risks and consequences of child labor in agriculture visible and improving rights protection services, especially education and health for children and adolescents in the countryside, is key to reducing child labor in agriculture.

An example of this work is the Regional Initiative for Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labor , an intergovernmental cooperation platform made up of 27 countries in the region, with the active participation of employers 'and workers' organizations.

This initiative addresses agriculture as a priority issue in its action to accelerate the eradication of child labor through the generation of knowledge, the integration of policies, the development of tools and the improvement of capacities on the subject.

Salazar-Xirinachs highlighted that "the virtual course that we launched jointly with FAO allows us to involve non-traditional actors in the effort to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, in line with Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals."

For Berdegué, joint actions between the two agencies are part of a great priority for the region: unleashing the potential of the rural sector and promoting a development model that leaves no one behind.

More information:

• Course. End child labor in agriculture
• FAO / ILO. Alternatives for children and adolescents in the countryside
• Regional Initiative Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labor