By Barbara Nwaiwu
Stakeholders have called for stronger community ownership and sustained government support to preserve the gains recorded under a child labour eradication project implemented in Kaduna’s ginger producing communities at a project close-out workshop held on Wednesday.
The call was made during the Project Close-Out Brainstorming Workshop on the Eradication of Child Labour and Unfavourable Working Conditions of Children in Ginger Production, organised by the Christian Rural and Urban Development Association of Nigeria (CRUDAN) in partnership with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) in Kaduna.
CRUDAN Executive Director, Joseph Gyandi, said the intervention achieved significant results after communities overcame their initial resistance and embraced the project’s objective of protecting children from hazardous work while promoting education.
“The most significant achievement has been the change in attitude among community members. Initially, there was resistance, but through continuous engagement they came to understand that the intervention was designed to protect their children from hazardous activities and improve their opportunities, particularly in education,” Gyandi said.
He said many families had initially misunderstood the project, believing it was aimed at preventing them from passing farming knowledge to younger generations, but later supported the initiative after understanding its purpose.
He added that the introduction of healthier ginger seedlings also helped restore confidence in ginger farming as a viable source of livelihood.
“People thought we wanted to deprive them of practices inherited from their forefathers, but when they understood that the focus was on protecting children from hazardous work, they embraced the initiative wholeheartedly,” he added.
Programme Manager of the Fair Labor Association, Dr Jean Appia, said awareness of child labour among respondents rose from about two per cent at the start of the project to around 87% by its completion.
He added that the project also strengthened farmers’ capacity in good agricultural practices, including managing ginger blight, while companies received training on human rights due diligence.
“At the beginning of the project, only about two per cent of respondents were aware of what constitutes child labour, but by the end of the project, awareness had risen to around 87%.” Appia said.
CRUDAN Project Coordinator, Michael Agon, said project data showed that the proportion of farmers informed about child labour increased from 6% at baseline in 2023 to 87% at endline in 2026.
He said the number of workers below the age of 14 on farms dropped to zero, school enrolment among identified children increased from 38% to 70%, while access to financial services through Village Savings and Loan Associations rose from 10% to 51%.
“We will continue to work with community structures and extension services to ensure that the gains recorded under the project are sustained,” he said.
Agricultural extension officer for the Southern Kaduna Zone, David Jonathan, described the intervention as effective, saying the baseline and endline surveys reflected improvements in both ginger production and awareness of child labour.
Chief Executive Officer of Shade of Women Ltd., Deborah Apochi, said the project encouraged parents to keep children in school and assign only age appropriate tasks, adding that her organisation would continue promoting child labour free ginger production through school based awareness, scholarships and community engagement.
