Child labour Farming households Agricultural activities Schooling Food insecurity Poverty Household socio economic characteristics Farm labour Rural livelihoods Household size Logistic regression

Poverty, food insecurity, and high cost of labour could increase the lead to engagement of
children in agricultural activities to the detriment of their schooling. This study
investigated the extent of child labour among farming households in Ovia North East
Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the
socio-economic characteristics of farming household heads in Ovia North East Local
Government Area, identified the farming and non-farming economic activities engaged in
by children in Ovia North East, examined the schooling patterns of children in Ovia
North East, and reasons for engaging children in farming activities.
A multistage sampling technique was used to select 150 farming households across
different wards in the area. Primary data were gathered using structured questionnaire
and analyzed through descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and a logistic regression
model.

Findings revealed that the household heads were mostly males (61.3%) with mean age
(50years) household size (6+) and school age children (7). Also, high reliance on child
labour largely influenced by socioeconomic characteristics such as household size,
income, educational level, age, and sex of the household head were revealed. Many
respondents noted that children frequently participated in tasks like weeding and
harvesting. Results from the regression analysis showed that age (3.703=B, p=.043 and
sex (B=0.000, p=.047) of household heads significantly affected their likelihood of
engaging children in farm work. The study also identified major reasons for child labour,
including rising living costs, high expenses associated with hiring adult labour, and
inadequate access to farm machinery.