long can they work for me 3 or 4 years. to stay for 3 maybe 2 years and i can't pay more than $300.00 don't worry they're not all the same price or the books are going to hear humans have different prices to look like sheep they're not all worth the same. to finish your coffee and get the children. just right now of course. ok. 200000 west african c.f.a. francs a worth roughly $300.00 euros that's the cost of $1.00 slave for 3 years. while our guide has a coffee the old man gets a tip off that there are journalists investigating the illegal plantations he calls off the deal. the young workers have no idea of the dangers they face at the cocoa plantations one of the worst is invisible toxic herbicides because by going

to work in the fields. we come across a lot of children wearing big weed sprays on their backs often working without a mask we want to find out what they're spraying. isn't that harmful for you. you know. you won't get sick knowing. what you pour in there. the fact is that the loser doesn't have a red live yet so there's the red lip meaning of organise. the bottles with the red lead contain weed killer it's sold everywhere but what's it made off. so it's a basket no idea what it is it's chinese here. to find out more about these weed killer we venture further into the forest to another illegal plantation the deeper we push the more we begin to realise why the forest

is dying out and where one particular thing i would say we've got to. do it kills weeds. and everything then you plant cocoa. yes we spray the stuff everywhere. to the children who work here use this product as wells even sit in them. yes. it's clive for say you know what that yes. we know the name but we don't know what it does we just kill weeds and plant cocoa. glad to say it is a broad spectrum herbicide that kills almost all plant species and the world health organization has identified it as a probable cause an agent especially when applied without appropriate protective gear. has no one told you it might be dangerous no we didn't know it was harmful or possibly even deadly. when you see the protective clothing on the packaging doesn't that make you wonder

a lot was said we know we have protection to use this product but we don't have any . so we just may do without it if. that's how you make room to plan to kick our brains while that's right. once the vegetation has been destroyed the cocoa can grow quickly. and come over for tea due to the trees they're all white. we set them on fire. did you do that we use dry wood to burn them down. if they like you've. been you have most rights because exactly it isn't going. to count trees rely on the 1st trial soils of the forest but they're also leeching them dry. the environmental

organization mighty earth documents the destruction of that i've never. used any way to look at our life and once kick our rice it takes over the entire forest as a full sun monoculture masses of chemicals are sprayed all over 20 years later the ground is completely worthless so they push deeper into the forest and do the same thing again and again they just keep moving further and that's why i say the cow plant is a canopy can you run. between 909-2015 over 90 percent of ivory coast's primary forests were cleared. they've mostly been replaced with could count trees. this continual deforestation is having an impact on the local and global climate less

forest means less rain and without rain nothing will be able to grow here even cocoa. for as the soil dries up so it is a vital source of income in the region within a week in the guam debbie forest we witnessed all the crimes the industry pledged to eradicate including slave labor child labor and the destruction of the environment. very clear that you know. god got a good. however each and every day tons of these illegal cocoa beans into the regular supply chain the people who buy them are like to keep a low profile but we find a trading post at the edge of the forest that buys both legal and illegal produce these bags stored here come from at least 40 different families where. there's no marking on the bags to say where they came from their opened in the

beams are all mixed together completely impossible to track. one of the biggest cooperatives in the region cooper webb used to work under the fair trade label. displaying this logo means taking a stand against child labor and deforestation. in 2017 people webb had it certification suspended was the cocoa being grown in the protected rain forest. that that's where. we have hardly any business partners in the classified rain forest and the number is marginal. because it says. when these trucks arrive we have dozens of

bags like these are you sure none of them come from the areas where child labor all deforestation are taking place let's be honest we saw child labor everywhere within the classified zone outside the zone everywhere. this. is about it depends what you call child labor a man who takes his kids to the field on sundays is that child labor. no that's not child labor this. but i'm going from the kenya faso who's been here for. my view is that's child labor raiola i mean normal. so far i haven't heard of any such cases of children working for one of our partners to. make a law can you be shown such and we inspect our producers every year. the supply chain for chocolate is anything but transparent what exactly happens between

the forest and our supermarkets that go to the cocoa you process where does it go how does it would use buying specs borders. exporters. like mislay. that is export us from ivory coast. to. the cooper web manager won't tell us who he sells to we come back in the evening and to drive us spills the beans says. yes. they both yes. cooper webb sells it to kick our beans to congo a giant us conglomerate the trades agricultural commodities among other things. it's an intermediary that sells cocoa on to the chocolate makers whose products we see in our supermarkets many people haven't even heard the name before.

surprisingly we managed to get an interview with congo they usually prefer to stay under the radar. i keep the silver cocoa too that you get from ivory coast to many big companies i'm not exactly sure nestle mars legal. and some others. without knowing it mo. most of us are eating cocoa products supplied by congo the company promises that it supplies clean cocoa but we have our doubts we confront the manager and his p.r. officer with our images. the only the stupid things we only stayed for a few days and we saw children on the roadside working with machetes and weeding with dangerous herbicides. that's terrible you should already know about the ideas

on false. see sick child labor is something we do our best to prevent within the certified co-operative organisations that are part of our sustainable development network. for sustainable hoka we offer a 50 percent premium cycle compared to the price of conventional green. so 50 percent goes to the cooperative who really have the cash to. physically see the forest and you sure the money is being redistributed even the cooperative is run by a well trained people it's all for me. our system works. we're committed to quality. the promise commits us to make a difference to them in return for the 50 percent premium these cooperatives are supposed to actively improve the daily lives of farmers by building schools for instance this is a promise that cooper webb has also committed to. is

it hard to verify when children are being forced into labor and that we have to build a school this year in one of our sections and in the 6 you go. oh you do for cooper where for cooper web. site when. you go out i think well the location has already been chosen but we'd rather keep it confidential next year if you come here i'll show you where there was already 7. i hope it'll be there and it will be there and. why is it a location secret nothing's been built. because he's lying that he didn't tell the truth seems to. me i can't promise that things are running better in our industry than elsewhere. also pledged to no longer destroy the

rain forest to grow cocoa they promised that by the year 2030 there would be 0 d. forestation in the supply chain. for station is a key issue for us as without the forest there's no rain and without rain we have no. beans. that sounds wonderful that you do business in one of the most of the forested places in west africa yes it's very difficult. for a station in ivory coast between 116 and 20 then was 90 percent and when we arrived in 2010 that figure was already 80 percent tweet it's things you need to change. how can you be sure that the cocoa superwomen selling it doesn't come from the classified forest. which is basically a lawless zone where unspeakable things are happening. we've

implemented our reliable system that enables us to identify the producers we're working with. supplied if they are g.p.s. tags with a barcode on. it. we collect all this and a database which allows us to link the product to the producer as it applies. this system is mentioned on congo's website codes on cocoa bags a scanner with satellite connection that offers state of beyond g.p. . traceability the problem is this footage is from ghana not ivory coast this is what it was i'm sorry but i spent a week in this area i didn't see a single bag with a barcode cooper where they didn't have a single one but that's it that information doesn't match what i have here at all because. we asked the cooper web manager about the possibility of using

technology to identify the farmers and track the bags. they've come up with us how can we know whether it actually comes from the classified forests we need a g.p.s. position is cute but who can help us with that the state has to do that research. do you know how they do it in ghana in ghana they're facing the same issues each bag has a barcode with a g.p.s. identification that links it to the producers you can work like that could you make it happen a separate option we've got so if they can do it in ghana we should be able to do it here as well but you know. i didn't get a confirmation about these barcode maybe it's the old system but it's definitely certified we're talking about the worst practices here no doubt we're not perfect and i'm not saying that we've found the perfect solution but we are trying. after

the interview we receive an angry message from congo they checked and have to admit we were right there are no barcode on the bags from the ground debbie forest but they assure us that 99 percent of farmers are registered and everything should be straightened out within a year. to see for them to defies the soundest all these displays deforestation slave labor child labor it all comes down to one thing traceability without traceability law it's almost or it's all in the shadows we don't know who target accountable everyone is hiding as soon as we know who sells flights tomorrow night . when where and how then all of a sudden we have something that works we can people accountable to this child and particularly for this case deflated we are just deforestation and so we can fix the problem traceability is the key to everything. we also want to explore the areas of ivory coast where cocoa is being grown

illegally rather than on secret plantations in the classified rain forest. in 2012 ivory coast's government launched its 1st national action plan to crack down on child labor its 3rd and latest plan has expanded to include issues such as supply chain traceability and illegal plantations in the classified forests and now it's allocated a little over 100000000 euros for the daunting task. may as 2 months works for one of the ngos that implement the program at the local level you're dora said. to get us out of our role is to help children who are in trouble featured a program for it so if your children who are being abused who are sent to slavery where your cocoa plantations. those are the ones who are here to help. with the 4th. issue there about a minister. for the for the i work with the ministry of family to raise awareness

of these villages about the child exploitation that takes place within cocoa farming fields. to. children in ivory coast often help their parents out in the fields on the weekends that's not illegal. may is targeting the families who don't even send their children to school. he works for a small n.g.o.s funded by international donors he himself used to work as a buyer for the cocoa cooperatives so he understands why the farmers rely on their children's help. because they help you to pick up the parts the far right. yes they pick up the pods you need to understand these children shouldn't be doing this work. for you. if cocoa farming paid well everyone here could afford to send their kids to school but isn't it usually when i

explain to them that children need to go to school they tell me they'd love that but they simply can't afford it and if i did my guess is if it were farmers with 4 or 5 children and no money to put them through school they don't know what else to do. the only way to put children from a school on a cocoa farm and salary is to make sacrifices elsewhere. mr song who has been working in the cocoa business for 30 years he's very proud of his son who will soon go to college he helps his dad during the school vacations don't purchase it so you're studying that's right what's something to do for. i'm going to start history this year i just graduated from high school and i continue my studies at college. tuition fees is very difficult. to manage the 1st installment of the cocoa earnings will only last for 2 months. then there's nothing

left. next to get lewis his little brother he doesn't go to school or school anymore he's dad had to make a choice it was either get or his brother. i don't have enough money like last year we need 700 francs a day. 750. that's not enough. to sawston to poor. well you know. the worker fingers to the bone while we have nothing left to give there's no money my children help me out where they can. do you go to school. not anymore see if your dad could afford it would you rather go to school or work

or other. which. were not called you got a nose off an hour behind the chocolate industry turns over more than $100000000000.00 euros a year meanwhile it's estimated that an average cocoa farmer earns less than one euro a day. would raising the price of cocoa beans put an end to child labor. could the solution really be that simple that's a question we wanted to put to the representatives of the chocolate industry. we travel to dabbles a small town in switzerland that's known for hosting large international business

events every 2 years swiss chocolate manufacturer barry culbut invites the cocoa industry's leaders to the conference show covies young since 2012 they've declared it they goal to end the abject poverty in cocoa producing countries. barry kobo notified us by email that we were not welcome at the event we go along anyway in the hope of meeting some people we can talk to after all they claim to promote transparency. but the hotel security has strict orders no. yeah no fear we. let us work there is no. no. if you. lose searching over the years. we stay on the sidewalk.

minister a question please. since it's a former minister from ghana almost talks to us but is quickly led away we starting to become a nuisance so they send us someone to interview as long as we promise to leave afterwards it's cameras the problem no it is i mean camera is the. problem but that social double the fact that the principle we're not allowing any additional journalist in the i'm still here to bring the. building to listen let's agree you're going to send me your questions and i'm going to reply to issue is bullshit . the burning question is why is nothing changing back in 2001 the big chocolate makers committed to in child labor that was almost 20 years ago. trade isn't manufacture is set up the lonely group will cocoa foundation that was supposed to improve conditions but social and

environmental simple solutions. are very hard to find for something as complicated as the child labor family but we all agree that the solution of paying more to the growers of those it has not been implemented yet. we are looking at ways to scale up approaches to how farmers can improve their income 18 years of. years to lucan what you going to do in the future and nothing is done nowadays efficiently to stop of a t. . i would i wouldn't say that nothing is being done now as i mentioned before we have companies that are committed to paying premiums to farmers to help and then crease their income levels the cocoa business altogether every year is a $100000000000.00 worth and that growers get 6 percent of it i think it's enough what if what i can say is that this is not unusual for commodities if you think of cotton i mean how much does a cotton farmer get compared to how much we pay for

a pair of jeans or another article of clothing that is made from cotton so it's this is not something that's specific to cocoa ok so we'll meet in the 20 years and see what's going on ok every 20 years or. overly sooner than that police sooner than that. the power doesn't. rest soley in the hands of the chocolate makers what about the law makers chocolate is a widely consumes product in europe. so we pay a visit to the european parliament in brussels astoundingly there is no sanction for illegal practices within the cocoa supply chain. heidi how to land an m.e.p. from finland has regular meetings with manufacturers. have your. bird of the workers there are children boys yes it is a tragedy. we are busy preparing

an action plan on what to do with cocoa so that cocoa would not anymore cause the forestation and child labor and what is really very remarkable is that more and more companies are saying that we need this mandatory due diligence obligation we need law inform a times you would have said that companies are masochistic that they are asking for a lot yes but they have what they want what they call a level playing field because they don't want to be irresponsible and then they see that the irresponsible companies are reaping the profits you know for a cheap price so that's the question because to be responsible may cost a little more and you feel. like well well if i may i would just like to show you an example that of course there is this kind of fancy side of the industry but there's not a word about these huge human rights issues and environmental issues that are hidden in that separate chain of chocolate so i was invited to this reception but i

just couldn't go because this is not the honest simple question one of the more i don't have a good answer to that everybody who works on the problems of cocoa say that yes you can you can. maybe. you can coming to terms with. the forestation and there is the deep deep question of living wage is i think it's a terrible thing that we can taste these fancy chocolates here in brussels but then see work are in. people are probably did not even taste it because it's too expensive to luxury products out of their reach so leaving ways he says. it's so simple if they had just a little more money then more of their children could go to school back in ivory coast in the village of troy or to cocoa farmers or investing the little money they

make in their children's future they've all chipped in to hire a teacher 200 children attend this class. there are 4 years the. 3rd year of our. lord harry when we see children going to the fields with other parents to send them to school instead we take kids between the ages of 6 to 9 how do you get paid. paid each month. by the parents were by the parents they all chip in yes the state doesn't contribute. because the state can't afford to hire teachers in full remote areas like this.

in 2019 ghana and ivory coast joined forces and decided to set the price of cocoa themselves the way opec countries do for oil. exporting countries have demanded the industry pay 30 percent more to the farmers that only translates into $0.30 per fan. per day but it's hopefully one small step towards a bigger change. the . law says to give. the soul the runs. to. such good fortune to believe.

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