Children’s Work in West African Cocoa Production: Drivers, Contestations and Critical Reflections

Cocoa farming in West Africa has a long history of relying on family labour, including children’s labour. Increasingly, global concern is voiced about the hazardous nature of children’s work, without considering how it contributes to their social development. Using recent research, this paper maps out the tasks undertaken by boys and girls of different ages in Ghana and how their involvement in work considered hazardous has changed. We show that actions to decrease potential harm are increasingly difficult and identify new areas of inquiry.