Stakeholders have called for stronger community ownership and sustained government support to consolidate gains recorded under the child labour eradication project in Kaduna’s ginger-producing communities.

The call was made on Wednesday at the Project Close-Out Brainstorming Workshop on the Eradication of Child Labour and Unfavourable Working Conditions of Children in Ginger Production, organised by CRUDAN in partnership with the Fair Labour Association in Kaduna.

Joseph Gyandi, CRUDAN executive director, said the project succeeded largely because communities embraced the intervention after initial resistance. He explained that many families initially feared the project intended to prevent them from passing farming knowledge to the next generation.

“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.

Mr Gyandi said the project also provided an opportunity to restore confidence in ginger farming by introducing healthier ginger seedlings.

Programme manager of the Fair Labour Association, Jean Appia, said awareness of child labour among respondents increased from about two per cent at the beginning of the project to around 87 per cent at the end.

“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 per cent,” Mr Appia said.

He noted that the project also strengthened the capacity of ginger producers in good agricultural practices and trained companies on human rights due diligence. Mr Appia added that sustainability measures were integrated into the project from the design stage by involving companies, community members and other stakeholders in implementation.

CRUDAN project coordinator, Michael Agon, said official data showed significant improvement in school retention and labour monitoring. He disclosed that the proportion of farmers informed about child labour increased from 6 per cent at baseline in 2023 to 87 per cent at endline in 2026.

According to him, the number of workers below the age of 14 on farms dropped to zero, while the school enrolment of identified children increased from 38 per cent to 70 per cent.

Mr Agon further stated that access to financial services through Village Savings and Loan Associations increased from 10 per cent at baseline to 51 per cent at endline.

David Jonathan, an agricultural extension officer covering the Southern Kaduna Zone, described the intervention as highly effective.

CEO of Shade of Women Ltd., Deborah Apochi, said the project helped parents understand that children should remain in school and only be assigned age-appropriate tasks.

Ladi Musa, a female farmer from the Fai community, commended the organisers for the successful implementation of the project. She, however, appealed to the government to intensify efforts to tackle insecurity and ginger disease outbreaks affecting rural farmers.

(NAN)