Decent work for agricultural workers is central to ending child labour

IUF position for the 6th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour , Marrakesh, 11-13 February 2026

Nearly three decades after the adoption of ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, child labour remains a harsh reality in global agriculture. Although the Convention achieved universal ratification in 2020, an estimated 84 million children are still engaged in agricultural work. The sector accounts for more than three-quarters of child labour among children aged 5-11, and over half of all hazardous child labour worldwide-around 54 million children.

Agriculture is not only widespread in child labour statistics; it is also one of the most dangerous sectors. Children face exposure to heavy machinery, toxic chemicals, extreme weather, and physically exhausting tasks that threaten their health, safety, and development.

Child labour in rural areas is driven by the structural realities of agricultural employment. Many agricultural workers are paid through piece-rate or quota systems that demand excessive daily output. To meet these quotas-and avoid losing their jobs-workers often depend on the unpaid help of their children. At the same time, global supply chain purchasing practices keep crop prices for producers artificially low, leaving workers unable to earn a living wage through their own labour alone.

These pressures are compounded by systematic violations of workers' rights, especially the denial of freedom of association and collective bargaining. Without the ability to organise and negotiate, rural workers have little power to demand fair wages, safer conditions, or protections that would make child labour unnecessary.

For years, agricultural workers and their unions have put forward clear demands to address these root causes. Many of these priorities are reflected in high-level political agreements, including the Durban Call to Action.

At the 6th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, the IUF is calling for urgent, concrete measures to turn these commitments into reality. The focus must be on implementation-not renegotiation. All strategies should align with the ILO Policy Guidelines for the Promotion of Decent Work in the Agri-Food Sector (2023) and include: respect for workers' rights, safe and healthy work, universal social protection.

Ending child labour requires transforming the conditions under which adults work. Decent work for rural workers is not separate from the fight against child labour-it is the key to winning it.