Brussels – United Nations agencies have joined forces to present a project against child labour in the coffee industry and to help combat the root causes of this social evil that today affects supply chains.
According to a statement from the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Trade Centre and the United Nations Children’s Fund have joined the project, with financial support from the European Union.
The initiative is called Ending Child Labour in Supply Chains: Addressing the root causes of child labour in supply chains through a zone-based approach.
The text specifies that 70 percent of the exploitation of minors occurs in agriculture, with a high risk in the coffee supply chain due to multidimensional and complex root causes.
Among them, he adds, poverty and social vulnerability, gaps in legal and regulatory frameworks and their application, inadequate social protection and obstacles to free, quality education.
The document points out that there are some particularities regarding coffee and other crops traded worldwide, such as farm gate prices, food insecurity, price volatility and the effects of climate change on production and harvests.
According to the ILO, this joint initiative aims to take advantage of the experience of each agency associated with the project to address the root causes of this scourge in coffee production.
Through integrated and zonal development and interventions in some of the main grain producing countries.
It will also draw on experiences in the mineral supply chain, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the main global producer of cobalt. In addition, it will seek to ensure that the knowledge and experience gained are shared and expanded to other countries.
