Why are child workers used?
In West Africa, the crop cocoa is primarily grown for export. As the chocolate industry grows over the years, so has the demand for cheap cocoa. Now days, cocoa farmers barely make a living selling the cocoa beans and often resort to the use of child labour in order to keep their prices competitive against other farmers. As the farmers are already trying to use cost effective techniques by using child workers, they often provide the children with the most inexpensive food available, such as corn paste and bananas. In some cases, the children. Sleep on wooden planks in small windowless buildings with no access to clean water or sanitary bathrooms. They may live in these conditions for moths or even years.