School children in Obang

Family labour is used for production purposes and is often an economic necessity. The family assists in the cultivation and harvesting process but, as this website shows, this is part of a cooperative effort that also places a very important emphasis on education.

	Child labour is any economic activity performed by a person under the age of 15 years. However, not all work is considered harmful to or exploitative of children. Child labour is defined as work that prevents children from attending and participating effectively in school or is performed by children under hazardous conditions that place their healthy physical, intellectual, or moral development at risk. International Labor organisation Convention 138

	In West Africa, cocoa production is labor intensive, with little use of mechanized tools. Most production is in the hands of small-scale farmers with few resources and they often use their entire family unit to contribute to cocoa farming. Child Labor Surveys in the Cocoa Sector of West Africa