See also the broader UNEP FI Environmental and Social Risk Briefing as well as these resources.
Agriculture includes:
- Growing arable crops for human or animal consumption
- Rearing livestock for meat, eggs and dairy products
- Growing non-food crops (biomass, cotton, dyes, flowers and other industrial products)
Methods of agriculture include: monoculture/plantations, market gardening, horticulture, dairy farming and animal husbandry.
Fisheries include:
- Capture fisheries, which harvest wild stock
- Culture fisheries, which manage stock (including ‘open ocean/offshore aquaculture’)
- Marine and freshwater fish processing
Key human rights related risks include:
- Occupational health and safety of workers and affected communities - use of chemicals, machinery, the working environment (particularly deep sea fisheries), communicable diseases
- The use of forced and/or child labour
- The impact on communities and their traditional livelihoods due to: monoculture; commercial/large scale fishing; over fishing; land use for cash crops; volume of water use; and the impact of effluent and wastes
- Forced resettlement of communities, including indigenous peoples
Relevant voluntary and trade initiatives include:
- UN-Indigenous Peoples’ Partnership (UNIPP): the first global UN inter-agency initiative to promote and protect the rights of indigenous peoples
- Fairtrade International: a global organisation working to secure a better deal for farmers and workers.
- The Marine Stewardship Council: a global organisation working to promote the best environmental choice in seafood.
- The Better Cotton Initiative: a voluntary program to enable farmers to grow cotton in a way that is healthier for farming communities and the environment and more economical.
- ECLT Foundation: a multi-stakeholder initiative of trade unions, growers and companies, with the ILO as an advisor, working to eliminate child labour in the tobacco growing sector.
There are links to these initiatives in the resources section.
WORKPLACE CONDITIONS - Health and Safety
What does this cover?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, agriculture is one of the three most hazardous work sectors - along with mining and construction - in terms of work-related deaths and injuries.
What are the main issues for the agriculture and fisheries sector?
- The use of hazardous chemicals, including pesticides and fertilisers, which may have both short and long-term risks to health
- Exposure to pollutants from other industries
- Use of farm machinery, including tractors, harvesters and other heavy machinery
- Ergonomic issues (eg lifting heavy loads)
- A dangerous working environment for fisheries due to climatic, tidal and water conditions
- Exposure to communicable diseases from livestock (eg avian flu)
- Insufficient information and training provision for workers on health and safety issues (or information not provided in languages appropriate to the workforce)
CHILD LABOUR
What does this cover?
Children are widely employed in the agriculture and fisheries sector - the ILO estimates that, in some countries, children comprise one third of the agricultural workforce. Children may be working on family run farms and helping out during particularly busy periods outside school time. Others may be working long hours in hazardous conditions, and may not be with their families.
What are the main issues for the agriculture and fisheries sector?
- Children working long hours are missing out on educational opportunities
- Health and safety issues for children include the use of sharp tools, carrying loads too heavy for their immature bodies and operating dangerous machinery
- Children working in agriculture also risk exposure to toxic pesticides, dusts, diseases and unsanitary conditions
- In some parts of the agricultural and fisheries sector there is evidence of children being trafficked and forced to work
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOUR
What does this cover?
Forced or compulsory labour includes any work or service that is extracted from any person under the threat of a penalty or where they have not entered voluntarily into an employment contract. The ILO believes that forced labour is present in many agricultural communities, in many regions of the world.
What are the main issues for the agriculture and fisheries sector?
A particular concern is the use of trafficked labour, where workers are not free to leave their employment and may be living in very poor conditions, working very long hours and receiving low or no wages.
CONTROLS AND MITIGANTS
- Application of consistent and effective management practices
- Health and safety plan communicated to all workers in their own language and supported by robust governance procedures
- Explicit policies and procedures around employment and protection of young workers
- Written policies and procedures around prohibition of the use of forced labour
- Understanding of the difference between subsistence and family agriculture and fishing (where children’s participation contributes to the generation of household income) and more commercial operations (where child labour is more likely to be damaging to the child’s health, welfare and education)
A major element of the supply chain for the agricultural sector is chemicals, including pesticides and fertilisers. For further information on this topic, see the Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals sector briefing.
HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
What does this cover?
People living in agricultural communities can be affected by agricultural operations. This may include movement of agricultural vehicles, equipment and materials, and the impact of effluent and wastes on water and land used for subsistence farming.
What are the main issues for the agriculture and fisheries sector?
- Storage and transport of hazardous materials may pose risks for local communities if inadequate standards are applied eg damage to health or local environment may occur through intentional or unintentional releases of hazardous materials. The movement of large scale machinery may pose a hazard to local people, especially children
- There may be a risk of contamination of natural resources from waste disposal and pollution, and subsequent damage to health of local people eg contamination of the food chain or water supplies
IMPACT ON TRADITIONAL LIVELIHOODS
What does this cover?
Communities which have traditionally earned their living from small scale agriculture and fishing may be impacted by large scale, commercial enterprises.
What are the main issues for the agriculture and fisheries sector?
- Monoculture, which reduces biodiversity and may have an impact on pollination of crops, traditional pest management and the local ecology
- Commercial/large scale fishing, which reduces the availability of traditional catches for fishing communities
- Cash crops being grown on land which would traditionally have been farmed for subsistence crops. Crops grown for export (including commodities and non-food products) may reduce the capacity of local people to be self-sufficient in food production
- Volume of water used by commercial agriculture, potentially reducing the water table and using water that would have been available for both domestic use and subsistence/local agriculture
- Volume of water used in fish processing, again using water otherwise available for domestic use and subsistence/local agriculture
- Capture fisheries may increase the salinity of surrounding land making it unsuitable for agriculture
- Damage or reduced access to or loss of cultural/historical/religious sites which form the basis of the identity of communities or indigenous groups
RELOCATION OF COMMUNITIES
What does this cover?
Communities may be displaced by the development of commercial agriculture.
What are the main issues for the agriculture and fisheries sector?
Title to land
- The system of land ownership varies between countries. Local or indigenous groups may have their land titles ignored, there may be informal land ownership, or conflict on how land titles are administered (whether formal or informal). Companies should be aware of and respect the special status of local and indigenous populations under international law
- Land ownership issues can be complex and require detailed research to identify the impacts and risks involved
Voluntary relocation - consultation and compensation
- The company may investigate and consider alternatives to relocation (such as use of alternative sites for the development), particularly where replacement of land is not appropriate or available.
- The company should take steps to ensure the free, prior and informed consultation of local and indigenous communities; should consult with members of the community; and take particular care to ensure that vulnerable groups are part of the consultation process. There should be an ongoing grievance mechanism available to local communities
- Compensation provided to the community should be based on ‘replacement value’ and be sufficient to allow an adequate standard of living. This should be issued prior to relocation, or before impacts of a development are experienced.
- Communities should be transferred to alternative land with housing which matches or exceeds the previous standard.
- Populations should be settled in a new location which allows for the continuation of their livelihood (eg farming or fishing).
Forced relocation
- Forced relocations (for example through the use of security forces) should not take place in connection with the development of company activities
- A company should take steps to ensure that any relocation plan connected to company activities has been preceded by consultations with affected individuals and communities
CONTROLS AND MITIGANTS
- Community awareness and education plan as part of health and safety measures
- Emergency response plan to protect affected communities in the event of a major accident or release of hazardous materials eg provision of emergency water supply to local community if usual sources are contaminated
- Clearly defined procedures around use of indigenous peoples’ knowledge and resources, including payment and other considerations
- Policies and procedures around conservation and sustainable use of finite resources (eg water, energy, land, fish stocks) which take account of local community need for these resources now and in the future
- Policies and procedures to ensure free, prior and informed consultation with local and indigenous communities; ensuring that vulnerable groups are part of the consultation process. There should be a complaints mechanism available to local communities
- Policy and procedures around the relocation of communities, including measures around consultation, prompt and adequate compensation and continuation of livelihoods
- Policies and procedures around conservation of cultural/historical/religious sites which form the basis of the identity of local and/or indigenous groups
