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Chocolate comes from cocoa beans, and more than half of those beans come from two countries in West Africa. But the situation is not all sweetness for poor cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast and neighboring Ghana. The United States has announced ten million dollars for renewed efforts to end the worst forms of child labor1 in the cocoa industry in those countries.
The grant will support efforts to reduce poverty so parents do not have to depend on the labor of their children. Another aim is to give children more access to education.
The money will go toward a new "Framework of Action" related to an international agreement from two thousand one. That agreement is called the Harkin-Engel Protocol2. American Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Elliott Engel led negotiations3 with the chocolate and cocoa industries.
The Department of Labor announced the grant in September, along with seven million dollars promised by the international cocoa industry. The governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast have also promised resources and policy support for the new efforts.
Kevin Willcutts is an official in the Labor Department's Office of Child Labor.
Children living in a cocoa-producing village near the town of Oume, Ivory Coast
KEVIN WILLCUTTS: "We’re at a point in time when we think we have a real opportunity because with the signing of this joint4 declaration, the parties are coming together and saying that we share a common commitment to address the situation and to offer children better hope for the future through education."
Daan de Vries is with Utz Certified5, a program that tries to create a fair marketplace for agricultural products. Mr. de Vries says some crops are grown closer to cities because they must be processed quickly.
But he says crops like cocoa and coffee are often grown in very rural areas with more poverty and less enforcement of rules.
Bama Athreya directs the International Labor Rights Forum6.
BAMA ATHREYA: "There's been a real unwillingness7 to act that I think is driven by the business proposition of getting cheap child labor to produce the cocoa for quite some time. And that is a major challenge."
Larry Graham, president of the National Confectioners Association in Washington, represented industry groups at the launch of the framework. He said "Our industry is fully8 committed to helping9 even more cocoa farming families through this innovative10 partnership11."
Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa grower. But the country has been split in half since a failed overthrow12 in two thousand two led to armed conflict. A long-delayed presidential election is set for this Sunday.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson, with Drew Hinshaw reporting from Senegal. I'm Bob Doughty13.
1 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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2 protocol | |
n.议定书,草约,会谈记录,外交礼节 | |
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3 negotiations | |
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过 | |
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4 joint | |
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
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5 certified | |
a.经证明合格的;具有证明文件的 | |
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6 forum | |
n.论坛,讨论会 | |
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7 unwillingness | |
n. 不愿意,不情愿 | |
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8 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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9 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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10 innovative | |
adj.革新的,新颖的,富有革新精神的 | |
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11 partnership | |
n.合作关系,伙伴关系 | |
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12 overthrow | |
v.推翻,打倒,颠覆;n.推翻,瓦解,颠覆 | |
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13 doughty | |
adj.勇猛的,坚强的 | |
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