The programme identified the use of child labour in West African cocoa supply chains. This included Fairtrade-certified producers from the Ivory Coast and Ghana, but it also showed how, when identified by Fairtrade auditors, the issue was dealt with swiftly and compassionately.
Child labour is a serious and urgent issue in West Africa (it is estimated that up to 800,000 children are trafficked each year in the region) and it is inconceivable that Fairtrade cocoa producers could escape being affected by these issues.
Enforced child labour is an infringement of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child.
The Fairtrade system explicitly prohibits child labour and when it is found by Fairtrade auditors, actions are taken to tackle the situation. Fairtrade is also part of the longer term solution to child labour.
The guaranteed minimum price, extra premium payments for investment in communities, and the democratic organisation of producers, all help to alleviate poverty and address the kind of issues which result in children being forced to work.
That is why so many of our Fairtrade producers proudly tell us how, because of their improved livelihoods, they are now able to send their children to school.
So it was encouraging to see in the programme how Fairtrade producer group Kuapa Kokoo – whom many of you will recognise as being the supplier of cocoa to Divine chocolate – handled the discovery of child labour by a Fairtrade auditor in an effective and appropriate manner.
Running a large co-operative of 45,000 cocoa farmers to such high standards is a credit to the work of the farmers and to Divine chocolate. But we must also recognise that there is much more work for Fairtrade to do to help address the serious issue of child labour across the whole of that region.
The practical nature of Fairtrade means that at the very least we can support Fairtrade cocoa producers by encouraging more sales of their products.
Panorama also raised some challenges like ‘Do we as consumers pay enough for our chocolate?’ As Fairtrade consumers these are familiar concerns to us and it’s encouraging to see these questions being posed. This type of debate can help to engender greater support for Fairtrade and the work we are all doing to fight poverty.
