The document summarizes child labor issues in the Indian seed industry, particularly in cottonseed production. It finds that the seed industry employs the highest proportion of child labor compared to other sectors in India, with an estimated 4 lakh children below 14 years of age working on cotton and vegetable seed farms. Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have the largest areas under cottonseed production and also rely heavily on child labor. Children are involved in labor-intensive tasks like hand-pollination and face risks to their health from pesticide exposure. Response from the government and industry to address these issues has been limited.

1. Child Labour in Seed Industry in India Davuluri Venkateswarlu (Glocal Research, Hyderabad)

4. Contribution of India to Global Cotton

6. Trends in employment of child labour cottonseed farms 2003-04 2006-07 2009-10 State Total production area (acres) Total children (below 14 years) Total children ( 15-18 years) Total production area (acres) Total children (below 14 years) Total children ( 15-18 years) Total production area (acres) Total children (below 14 years) Total children ( 15-18 years) Andhra Pradesh 14,000 82,875 NA 16,000 70,400 57,600 12,000 31200 42000 26,000 91,000 83,200 25,100 85,340 87,850 38,000 91200 125400 Karnataka 4,000 26,800 8,400 5,000 29,500 18,000 8,000 32000 27200 Tamil Nadu NA NA NA 9000 38,700 27,000 5,000 15500 17000 Total 44,000 2,00,675 55,400 2,26,100 190,450 63,000 169,900 211,600

8. Workforce composition in cottonseed farms in different states 2010 AP Gujarat Tamilnadu Karnataka Age and gender composition % Children (below 14 years) to total workforce (29.8%) 426 24.6% (292) 31.2% (138) 39.2% (274) % of girls to total children 70.6% (322) 62.7% (183) 67.4% (93) 79.2% (217) % children (15-18 age group) to total workforce 39.3% (562) 34.4% (408) 34.8% (154) 34.1% (238) % girls to total children (15-18 age group) 77.2% (434) 62.6% (268) 62.3% (96) (74.8% (178) % Adults (above 18 years) to total workforce 30.9% (440) 41.0% (487) 33.9% (150) 26.6% (186) Average number of children (below 14 age) per acre 2.6 2.4 3.1 4.0 Average number of children (15-18 years) per acre 3.5 3.3 3.4 3.4

9. State wise total number of children employed in hybrid vegetable seed production 2009-10 Karnataka State Total production area (acres) Total children (below 14 years) Total children ( 15-18 years) Total production area (acres) Total children (below 14 years) Total children ( 15-18 years) Total production area (acres) Total children (below 14 years) Total children ( 15-18 years) Okra 2200 6600 8800 2500 8750 10250 2000 6800 11600 Hot pepper 900 18360 21960 380 4560 8816 Sweet pepper 160 1408 1952 205 1599 2952 Tomato 1600 6240 17600 40 160 472 Brinjal 500 2850 4150 550 2090 4400 Total 5360 35458 54462 3675 17159 26890 2000 6800 11600

10. State wise total area under cottonseed production in India (2009-10) Name of the state Total Area (acres) % of area Gujarat 38000 54.3% Andhra Pradesh 12000 17.2% Tamilnadu 5000 7.1% Karnataka 8000 11.4% Other states (Maharashtra, MP, Punjab etc) 7000 10.0% Total India 70000 100%

13. Company wise Approx. area under hybrid Cottonseed Production in India during 2006-07 Name of company Total area in acres (%) Multinationals companies (MNCs) Monsanto* 3400 (5.6%) Bayer (Proagro) 280 (0.05%) Mahyco (joint venture company with Monsanto ) 4000 (6.6%) Indian Companies Nuziveedu 10500 (17.5%) Raasi 6150 (10.2%) Ankur 6200 (10.3%) JK seeds 2325 (3.9%) Tulasi 1900 (3.2%) Ajeeth seeds 1500 (2.5%) Vikram 2000 (3.3%) Nath Bio 2500 (4.2%) krishidan 1300 (2.2%) Amar bio tech 1400 (2.3%) Other small companies 16955 (28.2%) Total 60310 (100.0 %) * Figure indicates only production area directly controlled by Monsanto. Monsanto indirectly control major part of the area through its sublicenses. All the major seed companies in India have sublicensed BT gene from Monsnato.

17. Trends in employment of child labour in cottonseed production in India (2003-04 to 2009-10) State 2003-04 2006-07 2009-10 Andhra Pradesh 82,875 70,400 31,200 Gujarat 91,000 86,360 91,200 Karnataka 26,800 29,500 32,000 Tamilnadu 38,700 15,000 Total 200,675 190,450 169,900

19. Workforce composition - Migrant labour State % of hired labour total workforce % of migrant labour to total hired labour Gujarat 82.4% 83.4% Tamilnadu 85.3% 82.8% Andhra Pradesh 78.2% 17.4% Karnataka 78.6% 7.5%