Thematic panel 9 - Making a breakthrough in agriculture to end child labour 

Agriculture remains the main sector where children are found in child labour, accounting for 70 percent of child labour worldwide. According to the 2021 Global Estimates, an additional four million children were drawn into child labour in agriculture over the period 2016-2020. An estimated 112 million boys and girls are now working in the agricultural sector, including crop farming, fisheries and aquaculture, livestock, and forestry.  Without a breakthrough in agriculture SDG target 8.7 will not be reached.

The objective of the high-level panel on agriculture is to give voice to global, regional, national and local actors who are contributing to address child labour in agriculture in different subsectors. The panellists will share and discuss game-changing solutions and provide their insights on the following: 

• What is needed to strengthen the contribution of agricultural actors to end child labour through  national processes?  
• In the short term, what immediate actions shall agricultural actors prioritize to address the root causes of child labour in agriculture (rural poverty, food insecurity, barriers to decent youth employment, vulnerability to economic and climate-related shocks, lack of social protection and barriers to free quality education)? 
• In the medium-long term, what actions can agricultural actors take to make sustainable and resilient agri-food systems a driver to end child labour? 

Agriculture remains the main sector where children are found in child labour, accounting for 70 percent of child labour worldwide.