CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR IN CROP PRODUCTION IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover Page – – – – – – – – – –
Title Page – – – – – – – – – –
Certification – – – – – – – – – –
Dedication – – – – – – – – – –
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – – –
Abstract – – – – – – – – – –
Table of Content – – – – – – – – –

Chapter One: Introduction
Background of the Study – – – – – –
Statement of the Problem – – – – – –
Objectives of the Study – – – – – – –
Research Questions – – – – – – –
Research Hypotheses – – – – – – –
Significance of the Study – – – – – – –
Scope/ Limitation of the Study – – – – – –
Definition of Terms – – – – – – –

Chapter Two: Review of Related Literature
2.1 Introduction – – – – – – – – –
2.2 Conceptual Framework – – – – – – –
2.3 Theoretical Framework – – – – – – –
2.4 Empirical Review – – – – – – – –

Chapter Three: Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction – – – – – – – –
3.1 Research Design – – – – – – – –
3.3 Area of the Study – – – – – – – –
3.4 Population of the Study – – – – – – –
3.5 Sample Size and Sampling Techniques – – – –
3.6 Instrumentation – – – – – – – –
3.7 Validation of the Instrument – – – – – –
3.8 Administration of the Instrument – – – – –
3.9 Method of Data Analysis – – – – – – –

Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Introduction – – – – – – – – –
5.2 Summary – – – – – – – – –
5.3 Conclusion – – – – – – – – –

CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION

• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Child labour is work that harms children’s well being and hinders their education, development and future livelihoods. Child labour is work which by its nature and/or the way it is carried out, harms, abuses and exploits the child or deprives the child of an education (ILO, 2006). Worldwide, agriculture is the sector where by far the largest share of child labourers is found-nearly 60 percent. According to ILO (2006) and ILO (2010), over 129 million girls and boys aged 5 to 17 years old work in crop and livestock production, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry helping supply some of the food and drink we consume and the fibres and raw materials we use to make other products. Agriculture is one of the three most dangerous sectors in terms of work-related fatalities, non-fatal accidents and occupational diseases. About 59 percent (or 70 million) of all children in hazardous work aged 5-17 are in agriculture. Child labour is a great concern in many parts of the world including Nigeria and it appears to be particularly widespread in the informal small and medium-scale sectors. It is important to distinguish between child labour and child work. Child work is considered to have essential socialization functions while child labour tends to take place outside the family and sometimes could be exploitative (Mendelievich, 1979). Child labour is considered as work performed by children under 18 years of age which is exploitative, hazardous or European Journal of Physical and Agricultural Sciences
Vol. 2 No. 1, 2014 Progressive Academic Publishing, inappropriate for their age, as well as detrimental to their schooling, social, mental, spiritual and moral development. According to Akarro and Mtweve (2011), this shrinks their opportunities for schooling and also enslaves them and separate them from their families. In most cases, this practice is often violation of international laws and national legislation on children’s rights.

It is against this background that this study intends to investigate the causes of child labour in crop production.

1.1  THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

In many third world countries (of which is Nigeria) are experiencing economic crisis, and children being one of the vulnerable groups, suffer tremendously the impact of poverty. The

circumstances in which children in these countries find themselves form part of the explanation for their involvement in economic activities. Their participation in informal activities such as vegetable production is thus an important issue for investigation (Lawal and Akintayo, 2007). Agricultural crop production creates jobs; and because of its intensive nature, it provides twice the amount of employment per hectare compared to cereal crop production (Alli et al, 2002). Agricultural products require intensive cultivation and  demand extra-care from land preparation to sowing of harvest thus, often about two to four times more labour is required DAWN, 2007). Children have been found to participate in both paid and unpaid crop production activities  in Nigeria. Thus, there is an urgent need to pay more attention to the early years of children's lives in Nigeria, hence  prompting the need to look into the causes of children participation in crop production.

• RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Specifically, this research is aimed to address the following research questions:

1. What type of agricultural work are the children engaged in?

1. What are the factors that make these children work?

• What are the negative consequences of child labour?

1.4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The aim of this study is to assess the causes of child labour in crop production. This will be achieved through the following specific objectives, to;

1. examine the type of work engaged in by the children
2. determination of factors responsible for agricultural child labour practices in the state.

• assess the negative consequences of child labour in the state.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Children constitute not only a formidable demographic force, but also make up the next generation of parents, workers and leaders. Their well-being, therefore, has ramifications not only for their own lives, but also for the lives of children they bring into the world, and for the societies they will build and maintain. Their ability to fill these roles effectively depends on the support of their families, communities and on the commitment of their governments to their development.

Thus, the data generated herein, would form a data base for consultation in subsequent similar studies. This study will also serve as important record and reference materials for planners, international organizations such as, UNICEF, ILO, government and non-governmental organizations in the state and Nigeria at large that may have interest in child labour or its related issues in the future. More so, from a policy standpoint, this study is important because, on the one hand, its findings will shade light on the much debated harmful effects of child labour on children‟s educational development, gender/age variations of the affected children, and on the other hand, its socio-economic consequences in the state general development.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Child Labour is an encompassing concept and cuts across countries and culture. Different researchers have explored it in different dimensions. This study were limited to the  causes of child labour in Anambra State. The state is made up of 21 Local Government Areas. For the purpose of the study, 3 (three) LGAs was systematically selected out of the 21 LGAs, each of which was selected from the 3 senatorial districts of the state which in all formed the spatial units of the study. Questionnaires were designed and administered to the children between the ages of 4-17 in the selected areas of study. This study was carried out within a period of 8 months.

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