A Far-reaching Approach to Raising Labor Practices in Agriculture

When Human Rights Watch unveiled their research in 2009 on child labor and other labor issues related to tobacco-growing in Kazakhstan, it prompted Philip Morris International (PMI) to rethink the way it was addressing these issues. Although the company already had efforts in place, clearly they were insufficient to gain visibility into these issues and address child labor. This prompted PMI to seek the advice of Verité (a leading NGO in supply chain responsibility) and to adopt a new approach aimed at systematically addressing child labor, resulting in the launch of PMI’s global Agricultural Labor Practices (ALP) program in 2011.
Today, more than ever, companies are expected to have strong policies and due diligence processes in place to respect labor and human rights in their supply chains. Consequently, many companies have had to reevaluate their approaches to address these concerns. When PMI introduced its global ALP program in 2011 to progressively eliminate child labor and other labor abuses on all farms in its supply chain, PMI knew that to be successful, it would have to go beyond certifying farmers’ compliance with standards: Better visibility into the issues and an understanding of the root causes of child labor – together with the combined efforts of government, civil society, and other industries – would all be necessary to tackle this complex problem. Although more work is clearly needed, this approach – now in its fifth year of implementation – is delivering tangible results.

Global reach, one-on-one support

With a farm base of approximately 450,000 farmers worldwide – the vast majority of whom are smallholders growing tobacco on two hectares or less – child labor is one of the salient labor- and human rights risks in PMI’s global tobacco-growing supply chain spanning nearly 30 countries. Although the problem is not new or specific to tobacco-growing in agriculture, this must not be an excuse for inaction.

PMI’s ALP Code defines the labor practices, principles, and a set of measurable standards that embody the company’s strong commitment to progressively eliminate child labor and other labor abuses, and to achieve safe and fair working conditions on all farms in PMI’s tobacco-growing supply chain. Suppliers and farmers are expected to apply and meet these standards in the framework of PMI’s commitment to promote good agricultural practices.

To facilitate this, PMI’s approach includes establishing direct contracts between smallholder farmers either with PMI’s suppliers or with PMI, cutting out layers of middle-men and often volatile pricing at auction. Farmers receive agronomy support to improve the quality and yield of their crops, training on how to care for the environment, and help to achieve safe and fair labor practices on their farms. Having a secure buyer for the crop provides farmers with greater economic stability, while giving PMI better visibility into farm conditions and stronger leverage to address labor issues in its supply chain.

Dedicated field staff bring ALP to life

A team of 3,500 field staff known as “Field Technicians” (FTs) provide farmers with technical assistance regularly throughout the growing season. These “boots on the ground” live in tobacco communities and couple agronomy expertise with farmer training and support on how to meet the ALP Code Standards. These men and women develop trusted relationships with farmers, discussing concerns and providing training and operational support on continuous improvement practices on the farm: from technical know-how, certified tobacco and food seeds to health and safety equipment and training, among other issues.

FTs conduct in-depth, internal monitoring on a farm-by-farm basis, supporting farmers to meet the ALP Code Standards. In the beginning of the crop season, FTs gather detailed information (in the form of a “Farm Profile”) about each farm – the profile is then used to identify risk and define areas for improvement. Each farmer receives several visits throughout the season, aimed at systematically identifying and addressing labor issues. As part of this process, FTs are firm and clear about PMI’s expectations while seeking to build trust with farmers, discussing how they can adopt sensible approaches to overcome problems and problematic practices.
External monitoring is a critical component of the program and consists of country-specific third-party assessments by Control Union Certifications (CU), which evaluate ALP implementation. These assessments include action plans produced by PMI’s affiliates or its suppliers, committing to changing conditions on farms in light of the findings, and prioritizing areas for improvement. FTs are fundamental in ensuring that these plans become a reality.

Transparency of reporting: A “must-have”

PMI is committed to transparency of reporting on progress. Together with ALP country assessments from CU highlighting ongoing challenges on farms (assessments to date are publicly available on www.pmi.com), PMI publishes regular progress reports on global implementation of the program (see: www.pmi.com/ALPprogress).

Tailored community support to address root causes

Collective efforts of business, government, and civil society are needed to address child labor. Under the ALP program, PMI fosters strong alliances with stakeholders to guide the implementation of tailored community initiatives aimed at addressing the root causes of child labor and fostering behavioral change in tobacco-growing areas. This includes reaching out to civil society organizations, governments, farmers, and worker representatives in each country to gain valuable input on the approach.

Examples of community initiatives

In the Philippines, Pakistan, and Indonesia, PMI’s local affiliates developed a two-pronged program to reduce the risk of children being involved in hazardous farm work. The local ALP Country Teams equip farmers with a labor-saving device called “clip sticks,” which allow for a more efficient preparation of tobacco leaves for curing, simultaneously reducing the risk of children being involved in the process. In parallel, a summer school program for farmers’ children, run by local NGOs, takes place during the harvest season.

To assess the efficacy of this program, PMI’s local affiliates implemented a detailed protocol of increased random, unannounced visits during the peak harvesting season with groups of farmers who 1) received only clips; 2) whose children were involved in the summer school program; 3) were participating in both initiatives; and lastly, 4) a control group not involved in the program.

Although further validation is needed, the assessments in 2015 suggest promising results showing that summer schools are not enough and agronomy / operational support is insufficient in isolation. A twin-track approach is needed to avoid unintended consequences or displacing root causes of child labor on farms. The assessment will be repeated in the next crop seasons in these countries and trialed in Thailand.

Meanwhile, in Latin America, PMI’s affiliate in Colombia – Coltabaco – is committed to improving access to, and the quality of, rural education in tobacco-growing areas. Over the last eight years, Coltabaco has supported the Dividendo por Colombia Foundation, which works in partnership with the Ministries of Education and Municipality Administrations to oversee the “Sembrando Futuro” (Sewing future) projects – namely, “new school” and “early years” for children aged from 6 months to 5 years old, and 6 years to 12 years, respectively. The effort has benefited more than 7,000 children to date, resulting in the application of a tailored curriculum for children in disadvantaged rural communities in multi-grade schools, the recruitment of 230 additional teachers, and the building 180 schools in Bolivar, Sucre, and Santander.

External feedback

PMI’s approach to addressing child labor has come a long way since Human Rights Watch reported on tobacco-growing in Kazakhstan in 2009. The US Department of Labor has since removed Kazakhstan tobacco from the list of goods produced from child labor, following a review and acknowledgement of PMI’s efforts to eliminate it in the country. Human Rights Watch has since acknowledged PMI’s policy efforts and transparency, both in the United States and in their latest report on Indonesia: “Transparency is a key element of effective and credible human rights due diligence. […] Philip Morris International appears to have taken the greatest number of steps to be transparent about its human rights policies and monitoring procedures, including by publishing on its website its own progress reports as well as several detailed reports by third party monitors.”

Looking ahead

PMI is strongly committed to improving living and working conditions and addressing child labor and other labor abuses in its tobacco-growing supply chain. Alongside the many process challenges of making sure risks are identified on farms and effective steps are taken to address them, these are difficult, emotional, and culturally-sensitive issues to resolve.

PMI will continue to build on the strong foundations of the ALP program’s implementation, ranging from improved data collection and support to farmers in meeting the ALP Code, to ongoing farm-by-farm monitoring, and support to help farmers continuously improve and address problematic practices. External assessments remain essential in understanding the impact of activities and to identify areas for improvement.

Close cooperation with government, civil society, and other industry partners to develop lasting solutions to these issues is also a fundamental part of PMI’s approach, together with openly sharing the learnings of the program through transparent public reporting on progress.