3071-The political economy of new slavery

176 Child Labour, Education and Child Rights Among Cocoa Producers in Ghana
any offender. The Women and Juvenile Unit of the Police Department
(WAJU) was set up especially for the reporting of violence or forms of
abuse such as child labour or rape. Following an agreement between
the government of Ghana and ILO/IPEC, the IPEC programme was
launched in March 2000 with the support of the Ministry of Labour.
The Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour
(SIMPOC) was commissioned in order to determine the magnitude of
the problem of child labour and child trafficking in Ghana. The Child
Labour Unit has been set up within the Ministry of Labour to provide
legislation and strategy against child labour. A National Plan of Action
to combat Child Labour was developed in November 2000. And finally,
the Ministry of Women and Children was set up in January 2001.
Although there are no explicit targets to reduce child labour in
the cocoa industry at present, the government has also taken a number
of measures specifically to improve conditions and living standards
among cocoa farmers, which will indirectly affect child labour. These
include raising the main season producer price from 217,000 Cedis
in 2000 under the old government to 531,250 Cedis in 2002. This is
a considerable increase for the producers and represents a much higher
percentage of the world market price (although there are concerns that
this may still be inadequate in view of the present high rates of inflation).
The government is taking serious steps to combat the smuggling
of cocoa into the Ivory Coast and is heavily investing in chocolate
manufacturing facilities to add value to the cocoa beans and create
employment. It has also reintroduced the farm-spraying initiative
whereby all cocoa farms are sprayed with pesticide and insecticide free
of charge. Although this scheme still requires improvement and has
suffered many practical setbacks, mass spraying has already considerably
reduced farmers’ expenditure on the farm in certain areas. It will also
reduce the damage caused by cocoa pests and disease, thus improving
production. Through boosting cocoa yields and increasing the farmers’
disposable income, education or health care are made more affordable.
The long-established Cocoa Marketing Board Scholarships for children
of cocoa farmers remains ongoing, and roads in the major cocoa producing
areas are being rehabilitated in an investment of over 6.5 billion
Cedis (Daily Graphic, 14 March 2002). A better road network will facilitate
cocoa sales and boost investment in rural areas. This can contribute
to stemming the rural exodus and make rural areas more attractive to
teachers or health care professionals.
During my first visit to Ghana in 2000, there was a climate of despair
among cocoa farmers for whom the partial liberalization of the industry
and the SAP had meant the loss of precious subsidies for input on cocoa