CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR IN CROP PRODUCTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover Page – – – – – – – – – –
Title Page – – – – – – – – – –
Certification – – – – – – – – – –
Dedication – – – – – – – – – –
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – – –
Abstract – – – – – – – – – –
Table of Content – – – – – – – – –

Chapter One: Introduction
Background of the Study – – – – – –
Statement of the Problem – – – – – –
Objectives of the Study – – – – – – –
Research Questions – – – – – – –
Research Hypotheses – – – – – – –
Significance of the Study – – – – – – –
Scope/ Limitation of the Study – – – – – –
Definition of Terms – – – – – – –

Chapter Two: Review of Related Literature
2.1 Introduction – – – – – – – – –
2.2 Conceptual Framework – – – – – – –
2.3 Theoretical Framework – – – – – – –
2.4 Empirical Review – – – – – – – –

Chapter Three: Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction – – – – – – – –
3.1 Research Design – – – – – – – –
3.3 Area of the Study – – – – – – – –
3.4 Population of the Study – – – – – – –
3.5 Sample size and Sampling Techniques – – – –
3.6 Instrumentation – – – – – – – –
3.7 Validation of the Instrument – – – – – –
3.8 Administration of the Instrument – – – – –
3.9 Method of Data Analysis – – – – – – –

Child labour is one of the faces of poverty and is a great concern in many developing countries Nigeria inclusive. There is a paucity of information on child labour among the rural poor in Southern Nigeria. This study attempts to fill this lacuna by examining some issues and facts on child labour. This paper reviews the supply factors that influence the use of child labour in agriculture and some of the policy implications. Among the important factors that push children into the work force highlighted in this paper are family poverty, larger household size, lack of accessible and quality education, culture or family traditions and HIV/AIDS pandemic. The major factor influencing the supply of child labour in agriculture is poverty. Families with larger number of children are more susceptible to give their children to work in order to augment family income. Although there is free and compulsory education policy in most countries including Nigeria, and the enrolment rate in public schools has increased. The cost of a child’s education is not equal to zero for the poorest of poor rural households when there is free education. Parents are unable to send their children to school when direct costs of uniform, transportation to and from school, books, and writing materials need to be supplied from meagre to household income. Children’s social and cultural background also play an important role in their participation in work and educational opportunities. This study underscores the need for government at all levels and development stakeholders to mainstream child labour considerations in relevant development and management policies, strategies, programmes and plans and to effectively tackle child labour, and create a pathway for the elimination of child labour.

INTRODUCTION

Child labour is work that harms children’s well being and hinders their education, development and future livelihoods. Child labour is work which by its nature and/or the way it is carried out, harms, abuses and exploits the child or deprives the child of an education (ILO, 2006). Worldwide, agriculture is the sector where by far the largest share of child labourers is found-nearly 60 percent. According to ILO (2006) and ILO (2010), over 129 million girls and boys aged 5 to 17 years old work in crop and livestock production, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry helping supply some of the food and drink we consume and the fibres and raw materials we use to make other products. Agriculture is one of the three most dangerous sectors in terms of work-related fatalities, non-fatal accidents and occupational diseases. About 59 percent (or 70 million) of all children in hazardous work aged 5-17 are in agriculture. Child labour is a great concern in many parts of the world including Nigeria and it appears to be particularly widespread in the informal small and medium-scale sectors. It is important to distinguish between child labour and child work. Child work is considered to have essential socialization functions while child labour tends to take place outside the family and sometimes could be exploitative (Mendelievich, 1979). Child labour is considered as work performed by children under 18 years of age which is exploitative, hazardous or European Journal of Physical and Agricultural Sciences
Vol. 2 No. 1, 2014 Progressive Academic Publishing, inappropriate for their age, as well as detrimental to their schooling, social, mental, spiritual and moral development. According to Akarro and Mtweve (2011), this shrinks their opportunities for schooling and also enslaves them and separate them from their families. In most cases, this practice is often violation of international laws and national legislation on children’s rights.