Cote D Ivoire Case Study

1396 Words6 Pages
Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of cocoa, exporting about 43% of the cocoa beans. A third of the Ivorian economy is dependent on cocoa exports (Chanthavong, 2002), which means that any changes in the cocoa industry can result in huge impacts to Cote d’Ivoire’s country revenue. The market price of cocoa, however, is constantly fluctuating. Hence, farmers have unpredictable profits, which pressurises them to cut costs and use cheap labour, mainly through child and slave labour. As a result, an estimated 15,000 children in Cote d’Ivoire are forced to work on cocoa farms, under terrible conditions. These children are exposed to chemicals, long working hours, and denied a decent education. With low educational…show more content…
In 2008, almost half of Cote d’Ivoire’s population lived under the poverty threshold, living on less than US$1.25 per day (Abidjan, 2008). According to the Institute of National Statistics (INS), 70% of Ivoirians were not eating adequately and 68% could not afford proper treatment when they were sick. With these high levels of poverty, stopping child labour could cause many families to be unable to survive. According to the World Bank, in Mali, where majority of the children working on Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa farms come from, total annual national income divided amongst the whole population gives each Malian only US$290 each for the entire year (IRIN, 2005). With these horrifying realities, the end of child labour could cause malnourishment and possibly even death for many families. Since families who send their children out to work are the poorest and most desperate ones, with no other means of getting a minimum level of subsistence, they would probably have high dependence on their child’s income in order to get food and shelter. If these children did not work, it could potentially reduce these families’ chances of survival. This could possibly force child labourers to find other sources of work, and make them more vulnerable to being exploited, as they would be more desperate for work to counter their increased poverty. If they are unable to find jobs at all, it would mean that these families could lose a significant part of their already meagre
Show More
Related

  • Food Security In West Africa

    10182 Words  | 41 Pages

    CHAPTER ONE RESEARCH DESIGN 1.1 Introduction Food Security is one of the topical issues of the 21st century with discussions revolving around the quality and quantity of food as well as sustainability of food across the globe. At the center of these discussions are the poorest of countries in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world. In response to challenges for food security on the continent, the African Union, operating on the platform of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD)

    Read More

  • Underdevelopment In Africa

    2174 Words  | 9 Pages

    Development and underdevelopment are two terms that have found common usage in Africa’ (Mwaura, 2005: 1). History and experience ‘have taught us that development is a complex process and that no one has all the answers’ (Mkandawire and Soludo, eds. 1998). Rodney (1972:3) states that development in human society is a many-sided process. At the level of the individual, it implies increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, selfdiscipline, responsibility, and material well-being’.

    Read More

More about Cote D Ivoire Case Study

Open Document