Seeds of Sorrow

Kannada/EST/12min
Producer: Plan India

Subject Focus: Hazardous agricultural practice exploiting children.

Summary: The farmers of Koppal district of Karnataka, who grow seeds for big multinational seed companies, prefer children to work on their fields. It is a tedious task of bending and carefully cross-pollinating the flowers for hours which require supple bodies and small hands. So the children are preferred, especially the girl children. They can work longer and faster than adults. For a meagre earning, the children are drawn away from schools and sent to the fields. They work for 12 hours and 7 days a week! Various health hazards like backache, cramps of hands are common among these children. The pesticides used in the fields affect their respiratory and digestive system. They also report stomach pain and other problems.