Kick-off of CLEAR Supply Chains project in Uganda

The project CLEAR Supply Chains (Ending Child Labour in Supply Chains: Addressing the root causes of child labour in supply chains through an area-based approach) has completed its inception in Uganda, following in-depth consultations with key stakeholders through tripartite and broad-based stakeholder meetings and the findings of a mapping exercise of Uganda’s coffee value chain. 

It was decided to focus the project activities in three districts: Kalungu, Manafwa, and Masaka. In Kalungu District, all agencies agree to invest heavily, ranging from direct support to coffee farmers to strengthening systems to prevent and eliminate child labour . In Masaka District, activities will focus mainly on downstream coffee value chain activities and systems strengthening, while in Manafwa District a light approach will be adopted. 

Between February and April 2024, joint meetings were organized with the leadership of these districts to introduce the project and discuss the issue of child labour in the coffee supply chain, in particular the role of District Child Wellbeing Committees to steer multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder coordination. 

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In all three districts, local government officials acknowledged the existence of child labour in the coffee value chain, especially during the harvest season, and called for deliberate action to address the issue. The management of a secondary school in Lwabenge sub-County in Kalungu District, stated that up to 80 per cent of students drop out during the coffee harvest season, which has a significant impact on their learning outcomes. It was also noted that, across the board, there is lack of knowledge about child labour and a low awareness on the impact of the highly gendered tasks and roles in a coffee-producing household, in particular the exclusion of many women coffee farmers from coffee sales and revenue collection of coffee, and the lack of gender sensitivity in the provision of support services.

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With the current high prices for Ugandan coffee, many young people are gaining interest in the coffee (processing) business. This was evident during a visit to Milly Nagawa’s coffee farm in Masaka District. Milly is a young coffee entrepreneur who organizes 385 coffee farmers, mostly women, and dreams of expansion, but is challenged by a lack of knowledge about coffee agronomic practices and business development. 

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To address these gaps and challenges, the ILO plans to support existing multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms on child labour at national and district level, and to provide support to farmers and cooperatives on human rights due diligence, safe working conditions, gender awareness and business development. Il also plans to provide technical and vocational training to children withdrawn from hazardous work in coffee supply chain, and business development support to young entrepreneurs.

CLEAR Supply Chains project

The CLEAR Supply Chains project is jointly implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as the lead UN agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Development Partner

The CLEAR Supply Chains project is funded by the European Union represented by the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission.

The content of this page is the sole responsibility of the project and do not  necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.