FUNDED BY: BULDHANA AND JALNA DISTRICT, MAHARASHTRA
AREAS OF OPERATION: NANDURBAR BLOCK, NANDURBAR DISTRICT, MAHARASHTRA
Why this project?
The WISH project, launched in August 2021, is a collaboration between Arisa and multinational seed companies BASF and Syngenta. This four-year project aims to address child labor and ensure minimum wage compliance in the vegetable seed sector in Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The project is divided into two phases. The first phase, completed in early 2022, involved research to identify areas where wages are below the legal minimum and where child labor persists. The second phase which Yuva Mitra focus on implementing strategies to tackle these issues by addressing their root causes.
Yuva Mitra’s WISH Strategy:
The project focuses on:
- Raising awareness on legal minimum wage, child labor, gender issues, financial inclusion, and grievance mechanisms with supply chain actors;
- Engaging stakeholders at various levels on these issues;
- Improving involved seed companies’ policies for minimum wage compliance;
- Involving other seed companies and international federations to enhance industry-wide minimum wage compliance.
Expectations:
BASF and Syngenta, along with other seed companies, will enhance internal policies for minimum wage compliance, including reviewing procurement price calculation, digitalization, wage recording, and monitoring. The WISH initiative aims to involve international seed federations to enhance sector-wide minimum wage adherence.
Farmers and growers supplying to BASF and Syngenta are required to undergo training on legal wage, child labor, and gender issues. They must comply with the companies’ codes of conduct by verifying workers’ ages, paying fair wages, and documenting work hours and salaries.
Benefits for farmers and labours:
Paying minimum wages helps seed growers and farmers comply with labor laws, avoid legal issues, and align with industry standards. Fair wages enhance productivity, motivation, worker retention, living conditions, and workforce stability.
Labourers benefit from WISH project by participating in capacity building training to understand legal wage, labor, and gender issues, leading to increased income, improved living standards, and reduced child labor.
Farmers, growers and labourers will participate in awareness and capacity building sessions on:
