Print This PagePledge Award Winner: Human Rights Initiatives in Hybrid Cotton Seed Production in India
Since 2005, the Human Rights and Seed Manufacturing teams in India have worked to reduce child labor among suppliers’ cotton seed production fields, reducing it from 20 percent in 2005 to less than 5 percent in 2007. In 2008, the team implemented farmer awareness campaigns, child labor prohibitions in contracts, and incentive programs for compliant farmers. They presented more field safety training for workers, including safe pesticide application and age requirements for work in safety-sensitive positions. The team also shared its efforts with the broader community of farmers through a program called Model Villages to reward entire communities for maintaining child labor-free cotton fields. As a result, the team reduced child labor to 0.5 percent among Monsanto’s business partners in 2008.
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