Research on child labour in agriculture in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

The article deals with the problem of child labour in agriculture in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Agriculture employed 112 million children in 2020, or about two-thirds of the world’s working children. They mostly work on their family farm or near home. Child labour is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific region. However, 5.7 per cent of child labour cases worldwide occur in Europe and Central Asia. The root causes of child labour are household poverty and economic instability, as well as children’s limited access to quality education. In the post-Soviet countries, the collapse of the economy in the 1990s contributed significantly to fostering child labor. The problem of child labor in agriculture in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is poorly reflected in national statistics. Expert survey in four countries that best represent the region was chosen as the main tool to study the problem. The results of the survey showed that still a high proportion of children from rural areas are employed on family farms, although the use of children in agricultural work is decreasing. Analysis of the legislation of the target countries and the scientific literature has revealed the causes and allowed making some recommendations to prevent and reduce child labour in agriculture in the region.