Children at age 10 work for monetary rewards on Cocoa farms

Use of children in the production of cocoa, a popular activity in Ghana, has become a great concern even for the International Labour Organisation, which is doing all they can to eliminate the worst form of child labour.

The government and in fact civic society, have recently rallied virtually under one umbrella to eradicate this menace.

Dr. S. Adubofour, a Faculty Dean and Senior Lecturer at the Christian Service University College, Kumasi, has called on farmers to dissentingly draw the line between children assisting on apprenticeship and those being forced into pure child labour.

He jointly made this observation, together with P, K. B. Asamoah, J. Obodai, and F. O. Agyemang in a research publication titled the use of Children in Cocoa Production in Sekyere South District in Ashanti Region, Ghana: Is this Child Labour or an Apprenticeship Training?

The objectives of the study were as to: investigate whether the labour of the children are paid for; determine the extent of children’s involvement; and investigate the risks they are exposed to.