Tobacco Asia

62 tobaccoasia Issue 3, 2023 May / June by the ECLT Foundation, provided by the International Tobacco Growers' Association (ITGA) The International Tobacco Growers' Association (ITGA) is a founding member of the Eliminating Child Labor in Tobacco Growing (ECLT) Foun- dation. ITGA is proud of this enormous contribu- tion to the fight against child labor in the tobacco sector around the world. In March 2023, the board of directors of ECLT Foundation approved a US$1 million project to fight child labor in agriculture in Indonesia. The Accelerat- ing Child Labor Actions in Agriculture Project will be implemented from July 2023 and aims at: • Enhancing government capacity to coor- dinate actions against child labor, close regulatory gaps, and ensure responsible business conduct. • Enhancing sustainability of the Partner- ship for Action Against Child Labor in Agricul- ture (PAACLA) as a key coordinating platform on elimination of child labor by improving its service delivery, membership, and diversifying funding. • Strengthening the government referral sys- tem by implementing Child Labor Free Zones and piloting an efficient model of child labor monitor- ing and remediation. The ACCLAIM project will be implemented in the provinces of East Java, Central Java. and West Nusa Tenggara. The project aims to reach over 2,100 beneficiaries directly and more than 100,000 indirectly. Child labor is an issue of concern in Indone- sia. According to the child labor survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and ILO in 2009, around 4 million children aged 5 to 17 years were working, 43.3 % of them in child labor. The agricultural sector had the most child labor (57%). Children as child labor in agriculture were working for their families as unpaid workers and in paid work on plantations such as tobacco, palm oil, rubber, sugar cane, and other commodities. ECLT has a long history of supporting re- search and projects involving farmers, farmers associations, government, and companies in In- donesia in their efforts to eliminate child labor in agriculture. For instance, ECLT Foundation com- missioned research on child labor in agriculture in 2017 which showed that: • The highest prevalence of child labor was in the age group of 15-17 years with the highest proportion coming from farm laborers' house- holds. Most of these children were involved at the post-harvest stages of production. • Factors that encourage children to work in agriculture include the level of parental aware- ness, the need for children to fill in their spare time (due to limited afterschool facilities, sports, play- grounds), religious piety, and economic factors (such as family income contribution). Advancing the Fight Against Child Labor in Tobacco Growing ECLT's new ACCLAIM project expects to reach over 2,100 direct beneficiaries and more than 100,000 indirect beneficiaries in East Java, Central Java, and West Nusa Tenggara. Credit: ECLT Foundation

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