Determinants of Child Farm Labour in Rural Households of Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the significant correlates, of child, households and community variables, which affect child farm labour involvement in Ogun State. A multistage sampling technique was used to select a total of 400 rural households from the State. The household survey involves an interview of 594 children, 400 household heads and a focus group discussion section in four locations. The data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The censored tobit model was used to ascertain the significant determinants of child farm labour intensity in the State. The study revealed that, an average of 5.26 hours of school time is spent per week on farm activities. This represents about 17 percent of total school time per week. The children were also observed to start assuming household and farm responsibilities as early as four years of age and on  average contribute 29-30 hours of labor per week. Also, the child personal characteristics do not affect involvement in child farm labour. The household/head’s socioeconomic variables (educational status, farm income, size of farmland and value of total household’ durable assets) were significant and negative determinants of intensity of involvement in child farm labour. The school distance was also a major determinant and follows the same trend. The study recommends that reducing child labour will require facilitating access to credit, subsidizing the costs of labour and time saving farm machines such as tractor hiring cost; and that research efforts should be geared towards  developing simple, affordable, and adaptable machines/implements, and other farm labour-saving devises.