Introduction:

Child labor is a global problem affecting 168 million children and adolescents, of which 98 million are found in the agricultural sector. In Colombia, there were 869 000 child workers in 2017.

Objective:

To characterize child labor in the agricultural production of rice, coffee, cotton, sugar cane, and panela sugar cane in Colombia.

Materials and methods:

A qualitative study was conducted from a literature review of studies on child labor, a documentary review on Colombian regulations regarding this phenomenon, and the empirical collection of data through participant observation and the use of interviews.

Results:

According to the official sources of information, given the level of industrialization and formal employment in the rice, cotton and sugar cane production processes there is no evidence of child labor in said sectors. On the contrary, in the case of coffee and panela sugar cane production, most of agricultural work occurs within a family economy scenario, which causes children and adolescents to work as unpaid family members to support their households. It is worth noting that due to the fact that agricultural work in Colombia takes place in rural areas and under informal economy conditions, there is an underreporting of the number of working children and adolescents in the agricultural sector, and therefore, the capacity of the Colombian state to confront this situation is very limited.

Conclusions:

The informal economy dynamics of the Colombian agricultural sector constitutes a potential scenario for the occurrence of child labor that requires the development and implementation of a public policy supported by a strong supervision by the State, and an educational strategy that, on the one hand, integrates school education with training options in relation to the agricultural production dynamics, so that children and adolescents attendance to school is encouraged, and, on the other, enables them to plan a life project in the context of agricultural work in rural areas.

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