Search

The sustainability of agriculture has been a topic of public debate over the last twenty years. The cocoa sector has been at the centre of this debate because of the large demand for chocolate in the Global North, which was one of the first sectors to begin to adopt sustainability standards. In this article, we focus on the actions taken by Northern and Southern actors to try to achieve cocoa sustainability over the past five years. Based on interviews and observations in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and European countries, complemented by document analysis, we map the controversies in the sector. Three issues emerge from our analysis: fair remuneration for producers, child labour and deforestation. We note differences of views between the actors of the North and the South, especially around the question of the fair remuneration of small producers. Emerging concerns are the single ingredient labels and the European regulations on zero imported deforestation and human rights due diligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared COVID‐19 a global pandemic. Subsequently, governments worldwide implemented strict regimes of lockdowns and school closures to contain the transmission of the virus. Ghana's government on 15 March 2020 also announced a lockdown and closure of schools, lasting up till January 2021. Against this backdrop, the paper examined the implications of school closures on child labour in Ghana. Qualitative data for the study were collected between October 2020 to February 2021 in a small rural community in northern Ghana. Findings from 16 semi‐structured interviews with schoolchildren aged 8–13 years show how school closures have meant that children from contexts of poverty: (a) are driven into child labour as they are either forced to accompany their parents to work on farms or sell foodstuff by the roadside; and thus, ultimately (b) engage in no learning during the lockdown period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need to understand cultural responsiveness in the field of child protection and accommodate best interests of the child to local contexts. This research addresses cultural responsiveness in social work interventions as part of child protection services in cases of 'child labour' in rural and urban Ghana. The sample size of this study is sixty participants (thirty men and thirty women), and it is made up of social workers and other child welfare practitioners in government agencies; non-governmental organisations; and parents whose children were involved in child labour as well as parents whose children were not. Using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation as methods of data collection, participants included parents (ten), stakeholders (ten), focus groups (thirty people); and parental interviews in participant observation (ten) were conducted to gather the needed data with purposive sampling across rural and urban communities in Ghana. Applying a framework approach as the main qualitative data analysis approach, interviews were recorded and transcribed. Overall, the research finds that professionals need to immerse themselves in different cultural practices and communication whilst considering different working definitions for parenting and creating a mission and vision statement that embraces different cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Africa Spectrum is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper finds out whether the Margin of Appreciation can accommodate children's engagement in work in the field of human rights in rural and urban Ghana drawing on the experiences and perceptions of 60 participants. Qualitative exploratory study was undertaken using semi-structured interviews with parents of children who both were and were not involved in child work (10), and stakeholders, including government officials and NGO representatives (10); focus groups (30); and participant observation techniques (10) in order to gather the needed data. The average age of participants was 31 years. Participants were purposively sampled across rural areas (Ankaase, Anwiankwanta and Kensere), and urban areas (Jamestown, Korle Gonno and Chorkor). Interviews were recorded, and transcribed, using a framework approach as the main data analysis method. The paper argues that there is the need to understand diversity in the field of human rights and accommodate the best interests of the child to local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern non-governmental organizations (SNGOs) raise funds and advocate for the poor because one of their strongest legitimacy is a connection with the grassroots and hard to reach beneficiaries. There is extensive literature on the close relationship between SNGOs and their donors abroad. However, although growing literature on the relationship between SNGOs and their beneficiaries in local communities is scant, this paper contributes to this gap by exploring how a foreign-sponsored local SNGO navigates the tensions between performance for donors and the interest of farmers in a cocoa-growing community of Ghana. Ethnographic data were collected for several months using participant observation with the participating SNGO. The findings enhance our understanding and reveal insights into how SNGOs adapt their practices on the field to provide evidence of their performance to donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of school attendance on learning and child labour in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a nationally representative sample of household and individual data in 2005/06 and 2011/12 for the analysis. Regression discontinuity, the capitation grant in 2005 as exogenous, is used to estimate the impact of school attendance on child labour and learning outcomes. Findings: The study found that children who were exposed to the capitation grant spent more hours in school and were more likely to enrol in primary school. School attendance was found to increase the likelihood to read and write a standardised test in English. Also, the improvement in children's school attendance was found to enhance the likelihood of performing a written calculation. The authors could not find any evidence that school attendance affected child labour. Originality/value: This research is the first causality analysis in sub-Saharan Africa that uses a nationally representative dataset to study the impact of school attendance on child labour and learning outcomes using a regression discontinuity estimator to deal with endogeneity issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to establish universal standards to protect children led to the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). I drew on literature exploring the UNCRC and children's rights to provision, protection, and participation. This paper aimed to ascertain challenges of enforcing children's rights to provision, protection, and participation in rural and urban Ghana drawing on the experiences and perceptions of 60 government officials, NGO representatives, and parents. Semistructured interviews were conducted with parents (10), stakeholders (10), focus groups (30); and participant observation techniques (10) were utilised to gather the required data and purposively sampled across rural and urban areas in Ghana. Interviews were recorded, and transcribed utilising a framework approach as the qualitative data analysis method. Acceptance of childhood as understood in the UNCRC is different from traditional child-rearing patterns in rural and urban Ghana. IMPLICATIONS Social workers' knowledge about dealing with dilemmas posed by rights to provision, protection, and participation for children may be enhanced. Social workers can improve their knowledge of factors that challenge the enforcement of children's rights for children engaged in child labour and the possible tension between children and parental rights in their everyday social work practice. Social workers can introduce culturally sensitive parenting programs and develop their own contribution towards monitoring and implementing the rights to provision, protection, and participation for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of child labour in the cocoa industries of producer countries like Ghana has come to the forefront of the discourse on trade related problems in international trade and how the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules can be used to address them. Though the WTO rules are fundamentally aimed at non-discrimination and liberalisation of international trade, they also provide for exceptions that allow member states to impose restrictions or total bans on imports of products that are not in consonance with non-economic objectives like public morals, public health and the conservation of natural resources. This paper conducts analysis of some exceptions to the WTO rules on non-discrimination and trade liberalisation. Using the problem of child labour in the cocoa industry in Ghana as an example, the paper discusses how these exceptions in the WTO rules could be used by an importing country to influence action against the use of child labour in cocoa exporting countries like Ghana. Where either the WTO rules or state action cannot or does not address the problem of child labour adequately, the paper analysis the viability of private sector responsible business initiatives inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as substitutes or complements to the WTO rules and state action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child labour is theorized to be influenced by social and cultural norms that legitimise child labour activities. While research has documented the nature of child labour, in terms of what activities children are engaged in as well as the impact it could have on children's development, not much is known about the pathways that lead to the normalisation of child labour. In this narrative qualitative study, we explored the pathways to normalising child labour among children in Ghana. The experiences of 18 children interviewed leads to an overall consideration of a case of passing the torch or breaking the cycle of intergenerational transmission of child labour. The study reported, continuing the family business, contributing to family income and reasonable earnings, as part of the debate for passing the torch. However, there is also room to break the potential for the intergenerational transmission of child labour which requires efforts from relevant stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and policy makers. With an understanding of how child labour may be legitimised, we can now move to develop programmes and interventions to de-legitimise child labour norms and contribute to positive outcomes for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aimed to ascertain parental evidence of impact of policy on worst forms of child labour (WFCL) in rural and urban Ghana amongst 460 participants: I utilised 400 survey participants whose children were/were not involved in child labour and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques and applying the Stata Version 13 software. I also utilised 60 government officials; NGO representatives; and both parents whose children were/were not involved in child labour. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents (10), stakeholders (10), focus groups (30); and participant observation techniques (10) were utilised to gather the needed data and purposively sampled across rural areas (Ankaase, Anwiankwanta and Kensere), and urban areas (Jamestown, Korle Gonno and Chorkor) in Ghana. Interviews were recorded, transcribed utilising a framework approach as the main qualitative data analysis method. Parental evidence suggests that new laws, legislative reforms, programmes and activities have helped to reduce WFCL in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aims to determine the factors associated with child labour practices in Ghana. Subject and methods: Data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey Round 6 (GLSS 6) conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in 2012 was used for the analysis. The target population was children aged 5–17 years. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between child labour, as a dichotomous outcome, and a set of possible factors. Results: The result showed that the child's age, gender and current grade, mother living in the household, and region and location of residence were the main factors that scientifically and significantly influence child labour in Ghana. Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of raising awareness about the dangers of child labour and exploring avenues for its prevention. Our recommendation is that policy-makers should especially target the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Upper East, Upper West and Volta regions where child labour is rampant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The quest for an appropriate monitoring and evaluation (M&E) design that delivers accountability, supports management and facilitates learning is one that many organisations grapple with. Over the years, experiences in project and/or programme development and delivery led the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour of the International Labour Organization (ILO-IPEC) to consolidate M&E efforts towards the development of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation strategy. Objectives The aim of this article is to present lessons from the design and implementation of a theory of change-driven comprehensive monitoring and evaluation strategy in a child labour project rolled out in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. The 5-year project was implemented during 2011–2015 by ILO-IPEC with support from the United States Department of Labour (USDOL). Methods This article critically analyses project documents (including evaluations) and captures the reflections and experiences of key project staff involved in the project. Results Timeless lessons are distilled, along with key phases of the project cycle. Critical markers include the importance of stakeholders' involvement in the design and development of a M&E strategy as a pre-requisite for buy-in and uptake. We find capacity building not just as a box to be ticked but an iterative process to improve knowledge, transfer skills and support learning. In addition to paying attention to technical elements, the soft issues of patience, flexibility and simplicity are discussed as invaluable ingredients for realising M&E goals. Conclusion While not exhaustive, it is hoped that these lessons would contribute to a minimum set of guidelines for improving M&E practice within projects and programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence in the field of child labour has identified social norms among the key antecedents. Social norms regulate actions of people within the social order. Where social norms are institutionalized and legitimized, people conform to them out of a sense of duty. It is argued that legitimate, deep-rooted, and institutionalized social norms are difficult to change. Yet, there have been some significant improvements in research suggesting that normative change programs can effectively shift deep-rooted social norms. In this study, we explored a pathway to change social norms that underpin child labour practices in four major hubs of cocoa and sea fishing. We employed a bottom-up practice research approach to co-design the study, and implemented it through narrative vignette interviews. Using vignette stimulus, we interviewed parents (n = 40), with 20 of them perceived to have engaged their children in child labour, and stakeholders in the communities (n = 10). Findings from the narrative interviews revealed norms on informal apprenticeship, inheriting family business, and hard work, among the core child labour norms. We unraveled the constitutive procedural norms that legitimize and justify the child labour norms in the communities. Based on this, a normative change framework has been designed and supported with suggested intervention programs to shift the social norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the gendered implications of Africa's transport gap (the lack of cheap, regular and reliable transport) for young people in rural Ghana, with particular reference to the linkages between restricted mobility, household work demands, access to education and livelihood potential. Our aim is to show how mobility constraints, especially as these interact with household labour demands, restrict young people's access to education and livelihood opportunities. Firstly, the paper considers the implications of the direct constraints on young people's mobility potential as they travel to school. Then it examines young people's (mostly unpaid) labour contributions, which are commonly crucial to family household production and reproduction, including those associated with the transport gap. This has especially important implications for girls, on whom the principal onus lies to help adult women carry the heavy burden of water, firewood, and agricultural products required for household use. Such work can impact significantly on their educational attendance and performance in school and thus has potential knock-on impacts for livelihoods. Distance from school, when coupled with a heavy workload at home will affect attendance, punctuality and performance at school: it may ultimately represent the tipping point resulting in a decision to withdraw from formal education. Moreover, the heavy burden of work and restricted mobility contributes to young people's negative attitudes to agriculture and rural life and encourages urban migration. Drawing on research from rural case study sites in two regions of Ghana, we discuss ethnographic material from recent interviews with children and young people, their parents, teachers and other key informants, supported by information from an associated survey with children ca. 9–18 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]