Centre for the Study of International Slavery: ‘Making sense of unfree labour in contemporary cocoa production: evidence and policy implications’
5:00pm - 6:00pm /
Thursday 22nd October 2015
Type: Seminar /
Category: Research
- Dr Alex Balch
- Suitable for: Anyone who is interested in this topic, including members of the general public.
- Admission: Free of charge
- Book now
Add this event to my calendar
Click on "Create a calendar file" and your browser will download a .ics file for this event.
Microsoft Outlook: Download the file, double-click it to open it in Outlook, then click on "Save & Close" to save it to your calendar. If that doesn't work go into Outlook, click on the File tab, then on Open & Export, then Open Calendar. Select your .ics file then click on "Save & Close".
Google Calendar: download the file, then go into your calendar. On the left where it says "Other calendars" click on the arrow icon and then click on Import calendar. Click on Browse and select the .ics file, then click on Import.
Apple Calendar: The file may open automatically with an option to save it to your calendar. If not, download the file, then you can either drag it to Calendar or import the file by going to File >Import > Import and choosing the .ics file.
This paper presents the diversity in forms of unfree labour in contemporary cocoa production and the challenges this raises for addressing them effectively.
Debates about unfree labour in cocoa remain heavily focused on child labour in West Africa and are often conflicting, oscillating between discourses of economic determinism (‘farmers have to use child labour because of the financial strangleholds created by multinational corporations’) and financial greed (‘rapacious landowners exploit children to cut costs and maximise their profits’).
The paper illustrates why discourses privileging certain forms of labour abuses are problematic and why it is also necessary to consider regionally-specific, and seemingly more benign, practices such as family labour/child work and smuggled labour.
Finally, the paper examines the implications of these distinctions for state and non state actors and for the global chocolate industry in particular.
Speaker biography:
Dr Amanda Berlan’s research began with an MPhil on the impact of Fairtrade on cocoa producers in Ghana, followed by a DPhil on child labour in cocoa production in Ghana where she undertook fieldwork in 2001-2003.
On completion of her Dphil, Dr Berlan took up a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oxford and then a Research Fellowship at the University of Manchester. During this time, she led and developed new research on the socio-economic sustainability of the cocoa industry in the Dominican Republic and co-led a study on the expansion and sustainability of cocoa production in South India. Her work has involved close collaboration with the private sector and non-governmental organisations and has led to major investments and changes in the cocoa industry.
Debates about unfree labour in cocoa remain heavily focused on child labour in West Africa and are often conflicting, oscillating between discourses of economic determinism (‘farmers have to use child labour because of the financial strangleholds created by multinational corporations’) and financial greed (‘rapacious landowners exploit children to cut costs and maximise their profits’).
The paper illustrates why discourses privileging certain forms of labour abuses are problematic and why it is also necessary to consider regionally-specific, and seemingly more benign, practices such as family labour/child work and smuggled labour.
Finally, the paper examines the implications of these distinctions for state and non state actors and for the global chocolate industry in particular.
Speaker biography:
Dr Amanda Berlan’s research began with an MPhil on the impact of Fairtrade on cocoa producers in Ghana, followed by a DPhil on child labour in cocoa production in Ghana where she undertook fieldwork in 2001-2003.
On completion of her Dphil, Dr Berlan took up a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oxford and then a Research Fellowship at the University of Manchester. During this time, she led and developed new research on the socio-economic sustainability of the cocoa industry in the Dominican Republic and co-led a study on the expansion and sustainability of cocoa production in South India. Her work has involved close collaboration with the private sector and non-governmental organisations and has led to major investments and changes in the cocoa industry.