Child labour risk factors profiling and mitigation plans in coffee supply chains in Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Child labour is widely recognized as endemic to the agriculture sector in Guatemala. Although national laws have been put in place to deter these practices, compliance with the laws is insufficient. Thus, each year, children are exposed to physically and emotionally harmful work on coffee farms. Child labour is a complex issue caused by multiple factors and exacerbated by the social, economic, and political realities of the country. 

Project A involves collecting this information through surveys with key informers, government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private partners at national, regional, local level, combined with an appropriate sample of household surveys in target communities and interviews with children. 

Based on the findings from Project A, Project B will adopt a landscape approach to tackle root causes of child labour in Huehuetenango through a collaboration of Anacafe and Funcafe, local government, Mercon, Peet’s, Rainforest Alliance (RA), and Seeds for Progress, while in parallel also strengthening the due diligence systems of Mercon B.V. and Peet’s Coffee.