Report Confirms Child Bondage in India’s Cotton Supply Chain on the Increase

Author: Davuluri Venkateswarlu, Director, Glocal Research and Consultancy Services
(To receive full copy of the report, write to: davulari_v@yahoo.com)

Report Title: ‘Child Bondage Continues in Indian Cotton Supply Chain’, September 2007

Excerpts from the Report’s Conclusions (pp.37-39):

The recent trends in employment of child labor in hybrid cottonseed production in different states in India clearly indicate that the overall number of children employed in this sector is on the rise. This is due to an increase in the total area under cottonseed production in the country. After the introduction of BT cotton in 2002, the demand for BT cotton hybrids has substantially increased. As the demand for BT cotton increased, the area under BT cottonseeds also increased resulting in an additional demand for labor for production of seeds.

In 2006-07, a total of around 416,460 children, out of which 224,960 are below 14 years and

191,500 are in 15-18 year age group, were employed on cottonseed farms in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Karnataka states. These states account for nearly 92% of the total production area in the country. Gujarat, which has the largest cottonseed production area in the country accounts for nearly 175,260 (42%) of the total children employed in this sector, out of which 86,360 children are below 14 years and the remaining 88,900 are in 15-18 year age group.

The report indicates that the response of state and central governments to address the problem of child labor in this sector has “not been very encouraging.” In the early 2000s, the government of Andhra Pradesh made some efforts to address the problem of child labor in general and child labor in cottonseed farms, in particular, by initiating awareness campaigns, establishing residential/non-residential bridge course centers for child laborers, booking cases against seed farmers found using child labor, creating new policy documents on child labor that acknowledges the link between elimination of child labor and universalization of education, and drafting legislation that ensures elimination of all forms of child labor making school education compulsory for all the children below 15 years) in the state (Venkateswarlu, D. 2004). According to the report author, the change of government in the state in 2004 had some negative impact and has slowed down the ongoing efforts of the government to eliminate the child labor in the state. The pro-farmer attitude of the present Congress government in the state put the Labor Department under pressure to act very cautiously with regard to booking cases against farmers who violate child labor and other labor laws. The number of cases booked by the Labor Department on cottonseed growers for employing children has drastically decreased during the last three years. The government has closed down the residential bridge course centers in some areas. In Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamilnadu, the response of state governments is very poor.

The issue of child labor in cottonseed production has received attention from NGOs particularly in Andhra Pradesh and recently in Gujarat. The exploitation of child labor in cottonseed fields was first brought into light in Andhra Pradesh in 1998 by the MV Foundation, based in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Southern India, which has been actively working on elimination all forms of child labor since 1991. In Rangareddy, Kurnool and Mahaboonagar districts, where cottonseed production is concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, MV Foundation, with the support of the local community, initiated a campaign against the employment of children in the late 1990s. Hundreds of girl children working in cottonseed fields were withdrawn from work and were sent to schools. Special bridge course camps for older (10-14 years) girls were conducted to bring them into the fold of mainstream school education. MV Foundation also initiated a dialogue with local and multinational seed companies to seek their help to address the problem in the cottonseed sector as seed companies are also partly responsible for perpetuating problems in this sector. In A.P. a few other NGOs also have been actively involved in the campaign against child labor including child labor in cottonseed farms. Recently, a few NGOs in Gujarat and Rajasthan (DISHA, South Rajasthan Mazdoor Union) started active campaigning against the employment of child labor in cottonseed farms in Gujarat. Though the efforts made by these NGOs had some positive impact due to their limited coverage the impact on the overall situation is minimal.

The response from seed industry as a whole to address the problem of child labor in cottonseed industry has also not been very encouraging. The exploitation of child labor in cottonseed farms is linked to larger market forces. Several large-scale national and multinational seed companies, which produce and market the seeds, are involved in perpetuating the problem of child labor. The campaign initiated by local and international NGOs, social investor groups and the media has put seed companies, particularly multinationals, under severe pressure to pay serious attention to the problem. The role of the companies in perpetuating the problem of child labor in cottonseed production is being questioned. MNCs who claim they are committed to the highest standards of socially responsible business practices had to face criticism from national and international media and NGOs. As a result, several national and multinational companies acknowledged the problem of child labor in the seed industry and have recently come forward to initiate steps to address the problem.

The two major seed associations in India, the Association of Seed Industry (ASI)20 and the Seedsmen Association of Andhra Pradesh,21 have passed resolutions in their annual general body meetings to proactively discourage directly and through its members the practice of child labor in hybrid seed production and further take effective steps along with other stakeholders towards eradication of this social evil from the hybrid seed production areas.

In 2003, ASI members initiated a dialogue with MV Foundation for a collaborative effort to address the child labor problem in cottonseed production problem in Andhra Pradesh. The discussions continued about a year and a joint action plan was prepared. When it came to implementation of the joint action plan at field level, many of the ASI companies, mainly Indian, did not show any interest. Finally, only two companies, Bayer and

Monsanto, have come forward to implement the action plan. Since 2005-06, both companies have been implementing an action plan which includes motivation campaigns, price incentives to the growers for not employing children, disincentives like black listing of farmers who are found using child labor for future production. The initiatives undertaken by these companies had some positive impact in reducing the numbers of working children but due to limited coverage of their area their efforts have very minimal impact on the overall magnitude of child labor in the industry.

Unless the major seed companies like Nuziveedu, Raasi, Ankur, Mahyco, Tulasi, Nath, JK Seeds, Vikram and Kushidhan which control nearly 75% of cottonseed business in the country come forward, it is difficult to address the problem at an industry level. Despite knowing the problem very well, these companies are not paying any serious attention to the issue.

Nuziveedu, Raasi, Ankur and Mahyco, the four major companies, together account for nearly 200,000 (48% of total child labor) children employed in cottonseed production in 2006-07, out of which 110,000 are below 14 years and 90,000 are in the 15-18 year age group.

The recent media reports on the situation of migrant child workers on cottonseed farms in Gujarat indicates that the situation is getting worse in this state. According to media reports, thousands of tribal children from south Rajasthan are being trafficked to work of cottonseed farms in the Sabarkantha, Banaskantha and Mehshan districts of Gujarat.22 The NGOs working on child rights issues in Gujarat and Rajasthan brought the issue to the notice of the

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Child Rights Commission (NCRC). On September 3, 2007, the NHRC issued notices to the Chief Secretaries of Gujarat and Rajasthan and asked them to inquire into the issue and submit reports within four weeks.23 Taking serious note of the issue, the chair person of NCRC, Prof. Shantha Sinha personally visited Rajasthan and Gujarat in July and August 2007 and conducted public hearings on this issue.24

The preliminary estimates of the area under cottonseed production for the 2007-08 seasons indicate that compared to 2006-07, the total area under cottonseed production in 2007-08 has increased by 15-20% in different states. This will further increase the demand for labor, including children, in this sector. The total number of children in cottonseed farms is likely to increase further during 2007-08 unless serious efforts are made to stop the employment of children at the field level.

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20 The Association of Seed Industry (ASI) is a national association of the planting seed industry in India. All the major MNCs namely Monsanto, Syngenta, Advanta, Proagro, and Pioneer are members of this association. The major Indian companies such as Mahyco, Raasi, Ankur and Nath Seeds are also members of this association

21 The Seedsmen Association of Andhra Pradesh, an organization of seed producers is one of the members of CEASE Child Labor (Consortium of Employers Association for Elimination of Child Labor) formed in 2002 with the support of ILO-IPEC in Andhra Pradesh to mobilize employers against child labor.

22 1) ‘Childhood lost in Bt cotton farms.’ The Indian Express 29-8-2007, http://cities.expressindia.com/localnews/fullstory.php?newsid=253417; 2) ‘India: Bt cotton fields employ child labour,’ 30-8-2007, www.fibre2fashion.com (http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textilenews/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40146; 3)‘Child labour in Gujarat Bt cotton fields,’ 3-9-2007, http://www.dailyindia.com/show/170807.php/Child-labouron-in-Gujarat-Btcotton-fields

23 ‘NHRC issues notices to Gujarat, Rajasthan over child-trafficking,’ Times of India, 3-9-2007

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/NHRC_issues_notices_to_Gujarat_Rajasthan_over_childtrafficking/articleshow/2334980.cms

24 http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/05/stories/2007080553530500.htm

Last Updated Thursday — September 27, 2007