Advancing Labour Rights and Decent Work in Pakistan’s Cotton and Rice Value Chains

Pakistan is one of the world’s leading producers of cotton and rice—ranking third in global rice exports and fourth in cotton production. Yet behind this economic success lies a workforce that remains largely invisible. Agriculture is overwhelmingly informal, and women form the backbone of the sector, representing over 60% of its labour force. Children, too, are part of this hidden workforce: global ILO-UNICEF estimates show that most child labour takes place in agriculture, a trend echoed in Pakistan where many children work as unpaid family labour or to support unstable household incomes.

For many workers, the fields remain unsafe and unprotected spaces. Hazardous chemicals, low wages, exploitative tenancy arrangements, and harassment are common realities, often left unreported and unresolved. While Pakistan has ratified key international human rights conventions, enforcement on the ground is weak, and businesses frequently lack the systems, knowledge, or capacity to meet national laws or international responsibilities.

At the same time, global markets—especially the European Union—are raising the bar for responsible business conduct. New frameworks such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU CSDDD) and the GSP+ scheme require companies to show that their supply chains respect labour rights, human rights, and environmental standards. For Pakistan’s agriculture sector, this shift poses both significant pressure and a powerful opportunity for transformation.

Helvetas, together with the implementing  partners Rural Education and Economic Development (REEDS) and Rural Community Development Society (RCDS), is responding to this moment through the Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence for Agriculture (CSDA) project, working across Pakistan’s cotton and rice value chains to strengthen human rights due diligence and build a fairer, more sustainable agricultural system. Rooted in the global “Protect, Respect, and Remedy” framework, CSDA connects companies, government agencies, civil society, labour unions, and farming communities around one shared goal: strengthening the rights, safety, and dignity of the people who make the sector possible.

A central focus of CSDA is supporting businesses as they adapt to evolving global requirements. The project partners with 50 companies to help them meet ESG and due diligence expectations, comply with GSP+ and EU CSDDD, and strengthen labour practices, workplace safety, and grievance mechanisms. Through gap analyses and close collaboration with regulatory bodies, CSDA helps improve inspections, monitoring, and accountability—laying the groundwork for more consistent and reliable protections for workers.

Equally important is empowering those at the heart of agriculture: farmers, farm labourers, and rural communities. CSDA equips more than 25,000 workers—many of them women—with knowledge of their labour rights and practical pathways for seeking justice. Civil society organizations receive training to better advocate for workers and to identify and respond to rights violations. Human rights monitors and community-based whistleblower networks are strengthened, creating safer, more trusted channels for reporting abuses.

Recognizing that meaningful change requires collective effort, CSDA also brings together different actors. Through two national multi-stakeholder platforms—hosted by the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) and Better Cotton—the project enables businesses, government institutions, unions, CSOs, media, and experts to share lessons, identify policy gaps, and coordinate efforts for reform across the sector.

Together, these actions form a coherent push toward a more ethical, inclusive, and resilient agricultural landscape.