Children’s work in the livestock sector: herding and beyond
Child labour in the livestock sector is widespread and largely ignored, according to FAO, which has released the first global study on child labour issues related to livestock. The FAO publication, "Children's work in the livestock sector: Herding and beyond", points out that agriculture accounts for most of the reported child labour in the world, and livestock accounts for some 40 percent of the agricultural economy. It says efforts to curb child labour will require getting governments, farmer organizations and rural families directly involved in finding alternatives to practices which often reflect the need for survival. The FAO report sustains that hazardous or potentially harmful work for children in the livestock sector has received less attention than child labour in other areas of agriculture, where much more has been done by international organizations, governments, civil society and rural families to address the problem.