ILO Empowers Ugandan Coffee Sector with WIND Training to Tackle Child Labour and Improve Workplace Safety

In September 2025, the International Labour Organization (ILO) conducted an intensive Workplace Improvement in Neighbourhood Development (WIND) Training of Trainers programme in Uganda under its CLEAR Supply Chains project. The initiative, which aims to eliminate child labour and improve working conditions in global agricultural supply chains, brought together key stakeholders from the coffee industry, local government, and national ministries.

The five-day training was held in collaboration with Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, reflecting the country’s growing commitment to decent work in its agricultural sector — particularly in coffee, Uganda’s top export crop.

Building Safer and Fairer Supply Chains

The CLEAR Supply Chains project, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, seeks to ensure that global production and trade systems are free of child labour, forced labour, and unsafe working conditions. Uganda’s coffee industry was chosen as a priority area due to its significant contribution to employment, rural livelihoods, and export revenues, but also because of ongoing challenges such as child labour, occupational safety risks, and gender inequality.

Through the WIND approach, the ILO is helping coffee farmers, cooperatives, and agronomists strengthen their Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) practices while promoting community-driven, low-cost solutions.

“WIND training has opened my eyes to practical ways we can make our farms safer without huge investments,” said one participant. “The action checklist is something I can use with farmers straight away, and it helps us find solutions together.”

A Diverse and Impactful Training

The training gathered 56 participants from across the country, including:

• 17 agronomists from major private coffee companies and Child Labour Platform (CLP) members such as Volcafe (Kyagalanyi Coffee), Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG/Ibero), and Ofi/Olam;

• 28 local government officials representing six coffee-growing districts;

• four officials from national ministries; and

• seven representatives from coffee cooperatives, farmers’ associations, and civil society organizations.

The programme’s hands-on and community-based design ensured that participants not only learned about workplace safety but also experienced participatory problem-solving in action. Using the WIND action checklist, they conducted field visits to local coffee farms and processing facilities to identify practical improvements in safety, ergonomics, and productivity.

The WIND Methodology: Learning by Doing

Developed under the ILO’s Participatory Action-Oriented Training (PAOT) framework, the WIND methodology encourages workers and farmers to identify hazards and propose locally appropriate, affordable, and sustainable improvements. The approach emphasizes active participation and knowledge-sharing among peers, promoting ownership and local innovation.

The training in Uganda covered five major focus areas:

1. Material handling and storage – safer lifting techniques, tool organization, and transport methods.

2. Workstations and tools – ergonomic improvements for efficiency and injury prevention.

3. Safe use of agricultural and electrical equipment – reducing accidents through better handling and maintenance.

4. Work environment and hazardous agents – managing exposure to dust, chemicals, and heat.

5. Welfare, gender, and community cooperation – addressing gender-based violence, ensuring sanitation, and fostering teamwork.

Through group exercises, on-farm demonstrations, and peer evaluations, participants learned how to adapt safety standards to local realities without major financial costs.

“The beauty of WIND is that it transforms small, everyday practices into lasting safety improvements,” explained an ILO trainer. “From simple shading structures to safer chemical storage, farmers see immediate results — better productivity, fewer injuries, and improved worker morale.”

Gender Inclusion and Community Empowerment

A central theme throughout the training was gender equality and the empowerment of women in coffee production. Participants discussed how unsafe working conditions disproportionately affect women and children, and explored community-based strategies to eliminate child labour by promoting decent work opportunities for adults.

One highlight of the training was a demonstration by Veronica Namugerwa, a female coffee farmer, who shared her techniques for safely picking and processing coffee. Her example illustrated how local women can lead in promoting safe and sustainable practices.

Local Action, National Impact

By the end of the session, participants had developed individual and institutional action plans outlining concrete steps to improve workplace safety in their respective districts and supply chains. These include:

• Training farmers’ groups in hazard identification and prevention;

• Integrating the WIND checklist into district agricultural extension programs;

• Incorporating OSH monitoring into coffee certification schemes; and

• Mobilizing cooperatives and community leaders to raise awareness about child labour prevention.

The ILO will continue supporting these initiatives by sharing refined training materials, providing follow-up technical assistance, and facilitating a peer-learning network to monitor progress and replicate success stories.

Strengthening Uganda’s Coffee Sector Through Decent Work

Uganda ranks among the world’s top 10 coffee exporters, with more than 1.7 million households relying on the sector for their livelihoods. However, challenges such as unsafe labour practices, low productivity, and child involvement in coffee farming persist.

The CLEAR Supply Chains project and the WIND training directly contribute to Uganda’s National Action Plan on the Elimination of Child Labour (2020–2025) and the Decent Work Country Programme, which aim to align agricultural growth with social protection and sustainability.

“Ensuring safe, fair, and child-labour-free coffee production is not just an ethical imperative — it’s a pathway to greater competitiveness in global markets,” said an official from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. “With ILO’s support, we are helping farmers realize that decent work and productivity go hand in hand.”

A Model for Replication Across Africa

The success of the Uganda training has drawn interest from other coffee-producing countries in East Africa, including Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, which are exploring similar participatory OSH programmes. The ILO plans to expand the WIND model through regional collaboration under the CLEAR Supply Chains and VISION ZERO Fund, reinforcing decent work principles in agriculture and manufacturing supply chains.

As the training concluded, participants expressed optimism that the WIND approach would not only reduce workplace hazards but also empower local communities to take ownership of change. By fostering safer and more equitable farms, Uganda’s coffee sector is positioning itself as a leader in responsible and sustainable production.