In Soviet times up to two thirds of Uzbekistan's cotton was harvested by machine. Nowadays this figure has dropped to just 10%. Instead, the majority of Uzbek cotton is gathered by hand, often by children.

Each September the cotton harvest begins. Many schools are closed down as children, some as young as ten, are sent to the fields to pick cotton by hand for up to three months. They receive little, if any, pay © EJF
Each September the cotton harvest begins. Many schools are closed down as children, some as young as ten, are sent to the fields to pick cotton by hand for up to three months. They receive little, if any, pay © EJF
In all regions of Uzbekistan, government officials mobilise children in an attempt to ensure that state cotton quotas are met. Schools are closed down, and children as young as seven are sent to the fields to pick cotton by hand. Headmasters are given quotas which dictate how much each student is to harvest. And those who fail to meet their targets, or who pick a low quality crop, are reportedly punished with detentions and told that their grades will suffer. Children who run away from the cotton fields, or who refuse to take part, can face expulsion.

It is impossible to estimate the exact number of children forced to pick cotton. But tens of thousands are likely to be involved each year. In October 2004, a minister with the public education department reportedly admitted that at least 44,000 senior pupils and students were harvesting cotton. However, these official figures can be expected to fall far short of the true number. Three years previously, 198,055 school children and over 13,000 students were reported working in the Ferghana region alone. According to UNICEF in 2000, an estimated 22.6% of Uzbek children aged between 5 and 14 worked at least part-time, primarily in cotton harvesting. This statistic equates to an upper limit of around 1.4 million children.
 
Uzbek children wait to find out if they have met their quota. © EJF
Uzbek children wait to find out if they have met their quota. © EJF
Children recruited to pick cotton near where they live are able to return home to their families in the evenings. But older children and those conscripted to work in the more remote cotton farms are forced to sleep in makeshift dormitories on farms, or ironically, in classrooms, often with poor living conditions, at times drinking irrigation water and with insufficient or poor quality food. Some children recount living in barracks with no electricity, windows or doors. After weeks of arduous work and poor accommodation children can be left exhausted and in poor health. One human rights organisation confirmed eight deaths of children working in the Samarkand region over a two year period. Many more suffer with chronic diseases including intestinal infections, respiratory infections, meningitis and hepatitis.

While it is certain that the Uzbek regime exploits children in forcing them to take part in the annual cotton harvest, it is less clear how much the children are paid. Some claim to receive US$5 for five days' work. Others report receiving just 15 US cents for the same period of labour. In 2001, the Uzbek NGO, Tahlil, estimated that payment for 1kg of cotton ranged from 1.5 US cents at the beginning of the season to 1.0 US cent at the end. In 2004, children in the Ferghana region reported that an average day's harvest of 10kg of cotton would earn them 38 US cents. For the Uzbek regime, forced child labour is undeniably cheap and immensely profitable. A child may be paid, at best, 3-4 US cents per kilo for a commodity that is valued at US$1.15 on the global marketplace.