Poverty, Labour Shortages Fuel Child Labour Crisis On Nigerian Farms
Despite Legal Safeguards, Children Continue to Power Nigeria’s Farms
NIGERIA’S agricultural sector, long regarded as the backbone of rural livelihoods and national food security, is increasingly relying on underage labour despite existing laws prohibiting the exploitation of children.
Although the Child Rights Act and several international conventions outlaw hazardous child labour, millions of Nigerian children continue to work on farms, often performing physically demanding and dangerous tasks that expose them to injury while denying them access to education.
Recent findings indicate that agriculture remains the country’s largest employer of child labour, reflecting deep-rooted economic and structural challenges that continue to undermine child protection efforts.
Millions of Children Working in Agriculture
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Child Labour Survey paints a troubling picture of the scale of the problem.
The survey estimates that approximately 24.67 million Nigerian children between the ages of five and 17 are engaged in child labour, representing 39.2 per cent of children within that age bracket. More than 56 per cent of them work in agriculture, while over 14 million children perform hazardous work capable of causing physical or psychological harm.
Global estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNICEF similarly identify agriculture as the largest employer of child labour worldwide, accounting for about 61 per cent of all child labour cases.
Why Farmers Are Turning to Children
Investigations reveal that the growing dependence on child labour is being driven by a combination of labour shortages, rising production costs and persistent rural poverty.
Farmers interviewed across several agrarian communities explained that migrant farm workers from neighbouring West African countries who previously filled seasonal labour needs have largely disappeared following the depreciation of the naira, making agricultural work in Nigeria less financially attractive.
Domestic farm workers have also increasingly abandoned agriculture for occupations such as commercial motorcycle transportation and urban informal jobs that offer quicker financial returns.
Mechanisation, widely viewed as the long-term solution, remains inaccessible for many smallholder farmers because of soaring equipment costs, expensive tractor rentals and high import duties on agricultural machinery.
As a result, many struggling farmers now depend on unpaid family labour, particularly children.
Education Sacrificed for Farm Work
Child rights advocates warn that the consequences extend far beyond the farms.
Children are frequently withdrawn from school during planting and harvesting seasons to assist their parents, while others abandon education entirely after receiving small financial incentives to work.
Experts argue that this contributes significantly to Nigeria’s already alarming out-of-school children crisis while limiting future employment opportunities for affected children.
Many of these children spend long hours weeding farms, harvesting crops, carrying heavy loads, handling dangerous farm equipment and applying pesticides without protective clothing.
Hidden Dangers in the Fields
Agriculture remains one of the world’s most hazardous occupations.
Children working on farms are routinely exposed to toxic chemicals, machetes, hoes, snake bites, musculoskeletal injuries, excessive heat and long working hours.
The National Bureau of Statistics reports that more than 16 per cent of Nigerian children engaged in child labour have already suffered workplace injuries.
Researchers also warn that prolonged exposure to agrochemicals may result in lifelong health complications.
Distinguishing Family Chores from Child Labour
Experts caution against confusing age-appropriate participation in family farming with exploitative child labour.
International labour standards recognise that children may undertake light, non-hazardous household agricultural tasks that do not interfere with schooling, health or development.
The distinction lies in the nature of the work, its duration, the child’s age and whether the activity affects education or exposes the child to danger.
Unfortunately, many agricultural communities have blurred these boundaries, making enforcement increasingly difficult.
Why Existing Laws Have Not Solved the Problem
Nigeria possesses a broad legal framework prohibiting exploitative child labour.
The Child Rights Act prohibits forced or exploitative labour involving children and restricts hazardous employment.
The Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act also criminalises the recruitment or employment of children in exploitative or dangerous work, prescribing prison terms of between two and seven years upon conviction.
However, enforcement remains weak, particularly in remote rural communities where labour inspections are rare and farming activities largely occur within informal family settings.
Government and Development Partners Respond
Federal authorities say efforts are ongoing to strengthen enforcement through labour inspections, community monitoring systems, agricultural extension programmes and collaboration with agencies such as the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
International organisations, including the ILO, UNICEF, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and several development partners, have introduced programmes aimed at reducing child labour by improving agricultural productivity, promoting mechanisation and increasing farmers’ incomes.
Projects targeting cocoa and cassava farming communities have also focused on educating parents, strengthening farmer cooperatives and improving access to education.
Balancing Food Security and Child Protection
Agricultural economists argue that Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable food security by relying on child labour.
They contend that long-term solutions require increased mechanisation, affordable agricultural financing, improved rural schools, fair commodity pricing and stronger social protection programmes that reduce poverty among farming households.
For child rights advocates, protecting children is not only a legal obligation but also an investment in the country’s future workforce.
They maintain that eliminating child labour will require coordinated action by governments, farming communities, civil society organisations, development partners and consumers to ensure that Nigeria’s food production no longer depends on the sacrifice of children’s education, health and future.
