The use of children in cocoa production in sekyere south district in ashanti region, ghana: is this child labour or an apprenticeship training?

Authors

  • PKB Asamoah Centre for Settlements Studies, College of Art and Built Environment, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi
  • SB Adubofour Department of Theology, Christian Service University College, Kumasi
  • J Obodai Department of Planning and Development Studies, Christian Service University College, Kumasi
  • FO Agyemang Department of Planning and Development Studies, Christian Service University College, Kumasi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v8i1.38227

Keywords:

Cocoa Farming, Child Labour, Cocoa Production, Apprenticeship Training

Abstract

Concerns have been growing in Ghana about the employment of children, aged between 5-17 years, in cocoa production activities. This concern is echoed by the International Labour Organisation in its attempt to eliminate Worst Form of Child Labour. 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. Using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), participant groups made up of women, men, children and opinion leaders were purposely selected from 10 cocoa producing communities from the study area. Structured questionnaires were also administered to 50 cocoa farmers through face-to-face interviews. The study revealed that harvesting is the stage in the cocoa production process that children are directly and actively involved. The study concludes by indicating that child labour and cocoa production are inseparable in the cocoa producing areas in the study site.

Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 8 (1): 38-43, June, 2018

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
1455
PDF
1192

Downloads

Published

2018-09-14

How to Cite

Asamoah, P., Adubofour, S., Obodai, J., & Agyemang, F. (2018). The use of children in cocoa production in sekyere south district in ashanti region, ghana: is this child labour or an apprenticeship training?. International Journal of Agricultural Research, Innovation and Technology, 8(1), 38–43. https://doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v8i1.38227

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Articles

License

  • Copyright on any research article is transferred in full to the International Journal of Agricultural Research, Innovation and Technology upon publication in the journal. The copyright transfer includes the right to reproduce and distribute the article in any form of reproduction (printing, electronic media or any other form).
  • Articles in the International Journal of Agricultural Research, Innovation and Technology are Open Access articles published under the Creative Commons CC BY License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
  • This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.