Children's Work in African Agriculture: The Harmful and the Harmless

by Abdulai Abubakari (Contribution by), Felix Ankomah Asante (Contribution by), Inka Barnett (Contribution by), Imogen Bellwood-Howard (Contribution by), Rosilin Bock (Contribution by)

Overview

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Millions of children throughout Africa undertake many forms of farm and domestic work. Some of this work is for wages, some is on their family’s own small plots and some is forced and/or harmful. This book examines children’s involvement in such work. It argues that framing all children’s engagement in economic activity as ‘child labour’, with all the associated negative connotations, is problematic. This is particularly the case in Africa where many rural children must work to survive and where, the contributors argue, much of the work undertaken is not harmful. The conceptual and case-based chapters reframe the debate about children’s work and harm in rural Africa with the aim of shifting research, public discourse and policy so that they better serve the interest of rural children and their families.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529226065
Publisher:	Bristol University Press
Publication date:	04/28/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	328
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

James Sumberg is Emeritus Fellow in the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Rachel Sabates-Wheeler is Professor in the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.

Table of Contents

Foreword – Michael Bourdillon 1. Children’s Work in African Agriculture: Introduction – Rachel Sabates-Wheeler and James Sumberg 2. Theorising ‘Harm’ in Relation to Children’s Work – Roy Maconachie, Neil Howard and Rosilin Bock 3. Understanding Children’s Harmful Work: The Methodological Landscape – Keetie Roelen, Inka Barnett, Vicky Johnson, Tessa Lewin, Dorte Thorsen and Giel Ton 4. Education and Work: Children’s Lives in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa – Máiréad Dunne, Sara Humphreys and Carolina Szyp 5. Disabled Children and Work – Mary Wickenden 6. Value Chain Governance and Children’s Work in Agriculture – Giel Ton, Jodie Thorpe, Irene S. Egyir and Carolina Szyp 7. Blurred Definitions and Imprecise Indicators: Rethinking Social Assistance for Children’s Work – Rachel Sabates-Wheeler, Keetie Roelen, Becky Mitchell and Amy Warmington 8. Children’s Work in Ghana: Policies and Politics – Samuel Okyere, Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah, Felix Asante and Thomas Yeboah 9. Children’s Work in Shallot Production on the Keta Peninsula, South-Eastern Ghana – Thomas Yeboah and Irene Egyir 10. Children’s Work in West African Cocoa Production: Drivers, Contestations and Critical Reflections – Dorte Thorsen and Roy Maconachie 11. Children’s Harmful Work in Ghana’s Lake Volta Fisheries: Beyond Discourses of Child Trafficking – Imogen Bellwood-Howard and Abdulai Abubakari 12. Children’s Work in African Agriculture: Ways Forward – James Sumberg and Rachel Sabates-Wheeler

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The notions of child labour versus child work, and harmful work versus acceptable work, have always been problematic concepts creating a gap in policies and international dialogues. Poor economic contexts have always been neglected by international debates, policy makers and practitioners. I find this book has a significant contribution to such debates and contexts.” Nardos Chuta, Young Lives Ethiopia

“Makes a compelling argument for the rethinking of ‘harm’ and ‘hazard’ in children’s work in rural Africa and elsewhere. Highly recommended.” Ben White, International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague