Every June 12, the world pauses on World Day Against Child Labor to remind people around the world that one of the most persistent violations of children’s rights – child labor – continues to exist in communities around the globe.

By the International Labor Organization (ILO)’s definition, “Child Labor” refers to work that is physically, mentally, socially, or morally dangerous and directly interferes with schooling, limiting education and growth potential. Child labor is more than kids doing chores or earning pocket money after school and is more complex to solve than policy or top-down mandates. According to data from the ILO and UNICEF, nearly 138 million children were engaged in child labor in 2024 and over 60% of these reported cases of child labor were in the agriculture sector. 

Why is child labor so prevalent in agriculture?

Poverty is the root cause of child labor in agriculture. In West Africa, where nearly 60% of the world’s cocoa is produced, the average cocoa farmer is making below the global poverty line (approximately $1 a day). Without fair prices, farmers are forced to make unthinkable decisions like whether to put food on the table or to send their child to school. But when farmers are paid fairly and education is accessible, communities are able to thrive. 

At the heart of the Fairtrade model is a minimum price and premium that supports smallholder farmers to get paid more.  In addition, Fairtrade developed the Child Labor and Forced Labor Prevention and Remediation (CLMRS) program which provides additional support for farming organizations with the highest risk levels. Specifically, this program provides grants Fairtrade-certified cocoa producer organizations in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, where the majority of the world’s cocoa is grown, to support both prevention and remediation. These grants can be used on initiatives ranging from enhancing access to education, supporting improved household incomes, or systems for processing child labor cases when they are reported. In line with Fairtrade’s mission and vision, this program ensures that solutions are farmer-led and grounded in their own experiences and priorities, as opposed to dictated by those outside of farming communities. 

The Kukuom Cocoa Cooperative in Ghana saw a need for improved education infrastructure in their community. In 2025, they received funding through the CLMRS program to construct a three-unit classroom block for youth education within its farming community so that children of cocoa farmers could more easily access education. Similarly, in Côte d'Ivoire , SOCAMEA COOP members identified that 120 children lived too far away from their school to comfortably walk – some walking as far as 17 miles.  As a result, attendance rates were low. Through the CLMRS program, they received a grant to purchase 120 bicycles and helmets to distribute to those children to comfortably and safely attend school.

“My child travels seven kilometers to school. I am used to paying for transportation, which costs me a lot of money. Several times, I can’t afford it. So, my child is forced to walk 28 kilometers a day to school. I’m happy that my child will have a bike. This will allow me to stop spending on transportation. He will use this bike to get to school and I will be able to save that money for school fees.” - SOCAMEA COOP farmer

Other projects funded by this program include additional construction or renovation of pre- and primary schooling facilities, funding to create birth certificate records for children, and procurement of school supplies. Since its launch in 2023, Fairtrade has distributed a total of nine grants for smallholder farmer projects, impacting over 1,100 children across 12 farming communities in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.

The CLMRS program is funded through the Fairtrade Cocoa Standard 3.3.3, which requires all Fairtrade supply chain actors to contribute financially to ensure that they are sharing the burden of addressing the issue and that Fairtrade smallholder farmers have access to long term support. This is new funding mechanism coupled with the overall Fairtrade certification, which includes regular third-party audits of cocoa cooperatives to ensure compliance with Fairtrade Standards are two major parts of addressing child labor in farming communities. 

Fairtrade believes that the microphone is louder together and through our collective grassroots movement, we can begin to work towards a future where every child has the opportunity to fulfill their potential.

By: Lior Wolf, Natalie Petrulla and Shelby Cundiff