The emergence of the child labor issue in West African cocoa economies coincided with the historical low of cocoa prices at the end of the 1990s. While there are other factors that contribute to child labor, poverty is a significant part of the problem. Yes, there are cultural predispositions, but they are not sufficient in explaining the entire phenomenon, especially in light of alternatives for children, i.e., schooling. So dealing with child labor means addressing poverty. There is no way around that. Continue reading “Child Labor in West Africa: Roads not taken – Part 2”
The Harkin-Engel Protocol – Part 3
In yesterday’s post, I outlined how the industry has adopted a definition of certification that flies in the face of the common sense meaning of the term. Certification, as I understand it, involves developing a standard and then measuring the production processes against that standard. If processes do not meet that standard, the product cannot be certified.
In the case of cocoa this would mean developing an appropriate level of child participation in cocoa farming. Cocoa can be certified to meet that standard if it is verified that children’s involvement did not rise above the levels specified. To achieve that certification, industry would use its resources to help bring child labor down to acceptable levels. Continue reading “The Harkin-Engel Protocol – Part 3”
The Harkin-Engel Protocol – Part 2
Yesterday, I reported that the situation regarding child labor in West Africa does not seem to have improved much since 2001 if we look at the initial surveys conducted in Ghana and the Côte d’Ivoire. Today, I’d like to focus on what the industry has done so far to address these issues and live up to the obligations it accepted in 2001.
The industry has established the International Cocoa Initiative, a foundation with the mission to “to oversee and sustain efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and forced labour in the growing and processing of cocoa beans and their derivative products.” How has it fared? In its 2006 annual report, the most recent available on its web site, the foundation reports that, through its programs, 3,844 children “have been withdrawn from or spared the worst forms of child labor.” The report is somewhat vague as to what the program entails, but reports that it involves a community based approach to bring about sustainable change and abolish “improper” employment practices. Interestingly, the plans “are reliant on the programs of governments and existing donors” indicating that not a whole lot of new money is being expended to implement new programs. Continue reading “The Harkin-Engel Protocol – Part 2”
The Harkin-Engel Protocol – Part 1
The most important component of the 2001 Harkin-Engel protocol was the requirement that the industry develop “credible, mutually acceptable, voluntary, industry-wide standards of public certification, consistent with applicable federal law, that cocoa beans and their derivative products have been grown and/or processed without any of the worst forms of child labor” by July 2005.
As we know, that deadline came and went without such a standard in place. The extension of the deadline until 2008 modified the original requirement and required the certification scheme to cover only 50% of the cocoa growing areas of Ghana and the Côte d’Ivoire while maintaining 100% coverage as the ultimate goal. Continue reading “The Harkin-Engel Protocol – Part 1”
Côte d’Ivoire on track to meet July 1 deadline?
Today, Reuters South Africa reports that the Côte d’Ivoire is set to meet the July 1 deadline to certify that its cocoa beans are produced without the worst forms of child labor. Behind the headlines, though, things look a little bleaker. Congressman Engel is quoted in an AFP article that only 50% of the cocoa producing regions will eliminate the worst forms of child labor in their production of cocoa. I doubt even that will be achieved. The Payson Institute report I mentioned earlier shows that the chocolate industry does not have in place anything that looks like certification scheme. It looks like all the players will simply declare compliance on July 1. There will be some remarks about the difficulty of assessing the magnitude of the problem. And after that, everybody will go back to business as usual. The farmers, of course, will be no better off.
March cocoa futures NY: $2151
Côte d’Ivoire Cocoa Spot Price: $2463
