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Topic: Protecting Children's Rights


Protecting Children’s Rights in Agriculture




Every day on her way to school, Chandra Kalar and the other children from her village pass the fields in which now
only adults work.



Bayer has a zero-tolerance policy on child labor

Child labor is deeply rooted in many societies and widespread around the world. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) estimates the number of child workers between the ages of five and 14 at approximately 158 million, or one in six children(1). It is a matter of course in many families that children will contribute to the families’ subsistence from an early age, particularly in the poorer regions of Latin America, Africa and Asia. As a result, children and young people are denied access to a proper school education – which in turn robs them of important career opportunities later in life and, viewed from a wider perspective, also hinders societal development.

In 1989 the United Nations issued "The Convention on the Rights of the Child" for the global protection of children's rights. Since then it has been ratified by more than 190 countries. Article 32 addresses the subject of child labor: "States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development”.


The "Introduction to Basic Technology (IBT)" program is aimed mainly at children attending state schools in years eight to 10 and is designed to give them skills that they can use in daily life.
Child Care Program creates alternatives

Bayer, and thus also Bayer CropScience, is strongly committed to respecting the rights of children. This commitment is based on the Global Compact, which stipulates the abolition of child labor as one of 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption. Bayer is a founding member of the Global Compact, a global initiative of the United Nations whose members now number over 5,500 companies(2).

As a clear consequence of this commitment, Bayer does not tolerate child labor. Commercial success at the expense of humanitarian principles is not an option for the Group. Bayer holds not just itself, but also its suppliers to this commitment, and therefore undertakes to combat child labor throughout its sphere of influence. Bayer’s Human Rights Position is also unequivocal on this point and makes a clear, binding commitment.

In India, where the child labor rate is traditionally high, agricultural land is distributed over hundreds of farms, often involving large distances. Monitoring alone cannot therefore eliminate child labor in the fields. Success can only be achieved by removing the actual causes. A fundamental change in the way people think is key to abolishing systematic child labor. The monitoring measures are therefore used to measure the impact of this change of mindset.


Packed in tightly, the boys and girls eagerly copy down the characters written on the blackboard in the national language Telugu by teacher Raman Janegulu.

In the context of its Child Care Program, which is specially tailored to the situation in India, Bayer CropScience makes sure that its suppliers likewise reject the use of child labor, and also actively supports local educational opportunities for children and young people – thus offering an alternative to working in the fields. Step by step, people are shown that the fields can be worked economically without using children and that attending school gives children a better future.





„Learning for Life“ initiative paves the way to school

The Learning for Life initiative covers everything from reintegration into the regular school system to vocational education measures:







Daycare centers for children of pre-school age are run in conjunction with India’s Naandi Foundation to enable their older brothers and sisters to attend school (Early Child Education Centers).
Collaboration with the Naandi Foundation has also resulted in facilities to support weaker pupils so that they avoid leaving school early (Academic Learning Centers).






Since December 2008, the project “Introduction to Basic Technology“ – implemented in conjunction with two experienced non-governmental organizations – has provided vocational lessons for senior school years in five villages in the Indian state of Karnataka to enhance the appeal of attending school.






The Bayer-Ramanaidu Vignana Jyothi School of Agriculture at a vocational education center near Hyderabad opened in January 2008. This enables young people, mostly former child workers, to train as “farm assistants” in half-year courses.



In all, over 2,400 schoolchildren have already taken part in one of the modules of the “Learning for Life” program.


During the season, teams make several, unannounced inspections of agricultural land, checking the age of the people working there, to monitor compliance with the “no child labor” clause.
Economic incentives for farmers

Alongside the “Learning for Life Initiative“, accompanying projects give farmers incentives not to employ children. These include micro loan offers, programs designed to increase productivity and special payments. A further element comprises measures that allow farmers direct access to the market without passing through middlemen.

Since 2006, the activities of Bayer CropScience have been independently monitored by the consultancy company Ernst & Young India to measure the long-term success of the company’s broad-based Child Care Program and provide support for continuous development.

The Child Care Program is also supported by recognized experts from the worlds of academia and development cooperation






The CEO of the Fair Labor Association, Auret van Heerden






The Dean of Social Sciences at the Friedensau Adventist University, Prof. Horst Friedrich Rolly






The Country Director of the Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) in India, Guenter Dresruesse






A representative from “The Energy and Research Institute” (TERI), India



This Advisory Council is tasked with supplying strategic consulting for the program in areas such as ethical production methods in the seed supply chain and developing education programs in rural communities. The council meets when required but no less than once a year.

In 2007 the company also started to introduce the Child Care Program at its subsidiary Nunhems, which produces vegetable seeds in India. Bayer CropScience began systematic monitoring there in 2009, and in 2010 the program is being extended to production of hybrid rice seeds.


The results of the Bayer CropScience Child Care Program so far


Learning for Life Initiative - school instead of the field:






Children rehabilitated into formal school: 1,402






Introduction to Basic Technology-Program reached 1,023 students as of February 2010






44 students graduated in two years from the Bayer-Ramanaidu Vignana Jyothi School of Agriculture



Farmer Training - More than 5,000 farmers trained under the Target 400 Program:






Productivity of cotton farmers increased significantly






Use of modern plant protection agents in cottonseed supply chain






458 farmers registered in the rural service center project for direct market access as of March 2010



______________________________

1 UNICEF - Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse - Child labour. http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_childlabour.html

2 May 2010 http://www.unglobalcompact.org/NewsAndEvents/UNGC_bulletin/may_2010.html
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[ last update: Friday, June 11, 2010 ]