Thumbnail Image

Agricultural mechanization and child labour in developing countries

Background study












Takeshima, H. and Vos, R. 2022 Agricultural mechanisation and child labour in developing countries. Background study. Rome, FAO.




Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Technical book
    The relations between climate change and child labour in agriculture
    Evidence on children’s work trends after climate-related events in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Nepal and Peru
    2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    Climate change-related events undermine children’s educational attainment, exposing them to child labour, hazardous work and forced migration. This nexus is particularly relevant for agriculture and its subsectors: indeed, they absorb about 26 percent of the economic impacts of climate change-related disasters and host 70 percent of all child labour. This study aims to identify the extent to which climate change-related events and impacts affect child labour in agriculture by exploring the underlying connection between the two challenges as the initial step towards integrating a child labour lens within the international community’s work on climate change. It showcases the multi-dimensional relationship through a mixed-methods approach in four countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Nepal and Peru. The qualitative and quantitative findings propose a set of policy implications that are in line with the concept that one-size-fits-all policy prescriptions are unlikely to work, as they must be tailored to different communities based on their characteristics.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Booklet
    Corporate general interest
    Gender gap in agricultural labour productivity: A cross-country comparison
    Background paper for The status of women in agrifood systems
    2024
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    Women in sub-Saharan Africa constitute almost half of the agricultural workforce, yet they are limited in their ability to access productive resources, such as land, water, improved seeds and fertilizers, and are subjected to discriminatory practices that hinder their productivity. While previous research has consistently identified a significant gender gap in land productivity, the literature lacks a comprehensive understanding of the gender gap in agricultural labour productivity. This paper's findings reveal varying gender gaps across the sampled countries, ranging from 47 percent in Nigeria and the United Republic of Tanzania to 2 percent in Ethiopia, which is the only country with no significant gender gap in labour productivity. On average, the gender gap amounts to 35 percent, with the largest portion (27 percent) attributed to the endowment effect. This background paper was prepared to inform Chapter 2 of FAO’s report on The status of women in agrifood systems.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Booklet
    Corporate general interest
    Will promotion of agricultural mechanization help prevent child labour?
    Policy brief
    2021
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    The FAO-IFPRI study, of which this policy brief is a summary, focuses on the use of tractors because they are among the most versatile farm mechanization tools and are universal power sources for all other driven implements and equipment in agriculture, with significant potential to replace animal draught power and human power, including children’s muscle power. Tractor use is typically also the first type of machine-powered equipment in use at lower levels of agricultural development, the context where most child labour is found. Mechanization is mostly assumed to reduce child labour, as it is expected to be labour saving in general. Yet, this is not always the case, as it has also been observed that the use of tractors and other machinery could increase children’s engagement in farm activities. This may be the case if, for instance, their use allows farms to cultivate larger areas, or if it leads to shifting chores of work from hired labor to family workers, e.g. for weeding edges of farmland not reachable by machinery. Evidence has been scant thus far, but the few available studies have mostly lent greater support to the hypothesis that mechanization reduces children’s productive engagement. Most available studies have focused on specific cases and based on scant data. The new FAO-IFPRI study provides a rigorous quantitative assessment for seven developing countries in Asia (India, Nepal and Viet Nam) and sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania) based on comparable farm household survey data.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Thumbnail Image
    Booklet
    High-profile
    FAO Strategy on Climate Change 2022–2031 2022
    The FAO Strategy on Climate Change 2022–2031 was endorsed by FAO Council in June 2022. This new strategy replaces the previous strategy from 2017 to better FAO's climate action with the Strategic Framework 2022-2031, and other FAO strategies that have been developed since then. The Strategy was elaborated following an inclusive process of consultation with FAO Members, FAO staff from headquarters and decentralized offices, as well as external partners. It articulates FAO's vision for agrifood systems by 2050, around three main pillars of action: at global and regional level, at country level, and at local level. The Strategy also encourages key guiding principles for action, such as science and innovation, inclusiveness, partnerships, and access to finance.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Flagship
    The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021
    Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all
    2021
    In recent years, several major drivers have put the world off track to ending world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. The challenges have grown with the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures. This report presents the first global assessment of food insecurity and malnutrition for 2020 and offers some indication of what hunger might look like by 2030 in a scenario further complicated by the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes new estimates of the cost and affordability of healthy diets, which provide an important link between the food security and nutrition indicators and the analysis of their trends. Altogether, the report highlights the need for a deeper reflection on how to better address the global food security and nutrition situation.To understand how hunger and malnutrition have reached these critical levels, this report draws on the analyses of the past four editions, which have produced a vast, evidence-based body of knowledge of the major drivers behind the recent changes in food security and nutrition. These drivers, which are increasing in frequency and intensity, include conflicts, climate variability and extremes, and economic slowdowns and downturns – all exacerbated by the underlying causes of poverty and very high and persistent levels of inequality. In addition, millions of people around the world suffer from food insecurity and different forms of malnutrition because they cannot afford the cost of healthy diets. From a synthesized understanding of this knowledge, updates and additional analyses are generated to create a holistic view of the combined effects of these drivers, both on each other and on food systems, and how they negatively affect food security and nutrition around the world.In turn, the evidence informs an in-depth look at how to move from silo solutions to integrated food systems solutions. In this regard, the report proposes transformative pathways that specifically address the challenges posed by the major drivers, also highlighting the types of policy and investment portfolios required to transform food systems for food security, improved nutrition, and affordable healthy diets for all. The report observes that, while the pandemic has caused major setbacks, there is much to be learned from the vulnerabilities and inequalities it has laid bare. If taken to heart, these new insights and wisdom can help get the world back on track towards the goal of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in all its forms.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Manual / guide