Since 2012, several partners have joined the national committee for the monitoring of trafficking, exploitation and child labor (CNS) chaired by First Lady Dominique Ouattara, in its fight against child labor in cocoa plantations in the Côte ivory. Joint actions have resulted in a decline in the phenomenon which should not be confused with children’s apprenticeship work with their parents or in small trades.
Child labor, exploitation and trafficking for the purpose of exploitation are increasingly criticized and undermine the health of the economy of several cocoa-producing countries, notably Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
In Abidjan often pointed out by chocolate magnates, the First Lady Dominique ouattara takes the phenomenon seriously.
To fight against child labor, it has put in place several national plans.
It can also count on the contribution of several international partners.
In Nawa in the south-west of Côte d’Ivoire, the populations benefit from the support and accompaniment of certain partners directly in the field.
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These include the American chocolate maker MARS for the sustainable cocoa initiative, the NGO Fraternité sans Limites, and World Agroforesty. They are united in the “vision for change-V4C” project to fight against the worst forms of child labor in cocoa farming in the Nawa region.
They contribute to the empowerment of 46 V4c communities in the fight against child labor. They raise awareness, in particular about the prohibition for children of cutting down trees, handling agrochemicals, carrying heavy loads or even cutting off with sharp tools.
Watch out for amalgams
For Saraka Kouadio Amani, chief of the village of Sarakadji, the inhabitants have been sensitized since 2009 on the phenomenon of child labor in cocoa cultivation,
a reality that first appeared in Ivory Coast in 1999.
However, he warns, trafficking, exploitation and child labor must be differentiated from the work of learning the child in the company of his parents, especially since the only heritage of the area lies in the cocoa plantations.
“The Coffee and Cocoa Council has built several schools in this area. This means that our children do go to school. Those who do not go are in circuits of resocialization by means of learning. This is how many find themselves in small trades such as mechanics, gold panning and breeding. Some children just accompany their parents to the field because they cannot be left alone at home. What must be feared, however, is when a father entrusts his child to a boss for apprenticeship and the latter uses the child for commercial purposes or exploits the kid by making him do heavy work and dangerous “, let Chef Saraka Kouadio Amani know.
Philippe Kouhon, special correspondent in the Nawa
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