Although the sector in theory provides much-needed income opportunities for smallholder farmers, the reality is different: investment costs are high and when contract practices1 are substandard the returns at the end of the season are uncertain. In areas with few income alternatives, farmers risk becoming dependent on a company’s often unpredictable purchasing decisions...Farmers run the risk of their goods being down-graded or simply not purchased. This means that, together with health and child-labour risks, farmers risk being trapped in a cycle of over-indebtedness. According to Swedwatch’s analysis that in turn increases the risk for bonded labour as defined by the International Labour Organization, says Frida Arounsavath.