The Cotton with Decent Work project, jointly implemented by the Governments of Tanzania and Brazil in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), has reported strong progress in addressing child labour within Tanzania’s cotton farming communities.

The initiative, which started in January 2025 and is expected to end in December 2026, is focused on strengthening public institutions, workers’ unions, and employers’ organisations so that they can better implement policies aimed at eliminating child labour.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam during a three-day meeting on child labour in cotton farming, ILO Programme Officer Noreen Toroka explained that the project has made notable achievements, especially in improving labour inspection systems, enhancing occupational safety and health (OSH), and expanding access to social protection services for farming communities.

Meatu District in Simiyu Region was identified as the main implementation area due to its high cotton production and history of child labour challenges.

The project has also supported exchange programmes between Tanzania and Brazil, where officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, OSHA, and other stakeholders learned best practices in labour inspection and workers’ rights.These experiences have helped improve training for labour inspectors, psychosocial support services, and safety measures in the cotton value chain.

Special labour inspections carried out during the 2024 and 2025 harvest seasons covered Meatu, Shinyanga, and Mwanza, reaching 30 Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies and four cotton processing factories with training on child labour risks and workplace safety.

Brazil’s ILO representative, Fernanda Barreto, praised Tanzania’s progress, including the development of a national strategy to eliminate child labour and ongoing awareness campaigns.She also highlighted growing cooperation between Tanzania and Brazil to expand social protection systems for vulnerable agricultural workers.Both governments have expressed interest in extending the project into a new phase under trilateral cooperation with the ILO.