Is COVID-19 regenerating Child labour as children are back on cocoa farms?

Ismaila Pomasi, Chair, Cocoa Abrabopa Association

By: Ismaila Pomasi, Chair, Cocoa Abrabopa Association

April 20, 2020

Since the president’s directive to halt all school activities as one of the measures of reducing the spread of the deadly coronavirus, one critical consequence of this directive has been a relatively sharp rise of children working on cocoa farms.

School children are no more attending school until further notice as directed by the president of the republic. Though students and pupils in other parts of the country, mainly cities, are enjoying technological means of schooling, children in poor areas, including cocoa communities, are been left out due to lack of access to equipment /tools to enhance virtual/e-learning such as computers, internet, electricity, television.

Currently, children in cocoa-growing areas are engaged in various activities on cocoa farms. Speaking to some parents in Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions, they indicate that they are unable to leave their wards back home whiles they go to the farms for several hours.

Most importantly, some parents consider the presence of these children in the farm as labour force as they assist in some basic activities such as the sowing of maize, carrying of cocoa seedlings for transplanting, and fetching of water. Some children are, however, engaged in weeding and harvesting of cocoa as a means of making some income.