A leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa product, Barry Callebaut Nigeria Cocoa and Chocolate Limited (BCNCC) has restated its commitment towards collaborating with other stakeholders to tackle child labour risks in cocoa production in Nigeria.
This was made known during a one day sensitisation programme organised for farmers in Oda town, Akure by the company, which was designed to let farmers know that they have moral responsibility to stop children working on cocoa plantations.
Speaking during the programme, tagged “Child Labour, Sensitization and Training Programme” at Emiloro town hall, near Oda town in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, the Sustainability Operations Manager Barry Callebaut Cocoa Industry, Adejola Ahmed, explained that the programme was designed to put an end to child labour in cocoa farms.
Ahmed said it became necessary to let farmers know the side effect of pushing children into labour, noting that many of the children were at risk of being injured by pesticides, cutlasses and other hazards they are exposed to while working on cocoa farms, saying report confirmed that about 30 percent of the children in Nigeria were involved in working on cocoa farms.
According to him, “What brings about this program is that the company noticed that over the years, there’s belief that there is no child labor but later found that there are indicators showing that there is child labor and are in rural areas of Nigeria
“So we are here to let farmers know and understand what child labor is in their community. The effect of child labor is that children that are supposed to be in school are found in the house and it leads to social vices and also harms the development and the future of the child and that of the country.
“Before now, our statistics of child labor in cocoa farming is less than 30 percent, and there is a kind of misconception because children are into other things that are not being classified as child labor which shows that the statistic is wrong.
“We have about 300 here and after leaving here, we are going to Ute around Ifon area in Ose local government of Ondo state and also to Cross River for two days each.
“We are looking at 700 farmers in both states but with the turn out here today, we will be looking at 1000 or 1200 farmers.
“As a company that has the interest of the farmers at heart, we are looking into giving the farmers opportunity to have labor gang.
“The farmers will give the labor gangs a little amount of money and it will eliminate the use of children as well”.
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