2. Zero hunger

Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 48 percent of child labour is concentrated in agriculture, one of the most hazardous and risky sectors to work in as it involves long working hours, exposure to extreme climates, use of and contact with chemicals and pesticides, and use of dangerous machinery and tools, among others. Most children and adolescents who work in this sector do so under the guise of (unpaid) family work. Much of the farming sector as a whole (including crop agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry and livestock) operates under conditions of informality, which limit the ability to enforce current regulations. In addition to this, legislation in several countries provides for certain exceptions with respect to work in family businesses and/or agricultural activities. The persistent poverty in rural areas, the limited access to quality basic services (especially education, health and related services such as social protection, credit and appropriate technologies), the lack of means and skills to implement productive alternatives, along with cultural patterns which encourage the engagement of children, are part of the intervening factors involved that explain the widespread use of child labour in the agricultural sector. Hence the importance of linking these targets with the reduction of child and adolescent labour in the rural areas.