The internationally agreed target of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016 will be missed if countries don\'t step up their efforts to combat child labour in agriculture, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Tuesday, marking the World Day against Child Labour. Worldwide 215 million children are child labourers, of whom around 130 million boys and girls between 5 and 17 work in agriculture, including livestock, fisheries, and forestry. Many of them are engaged in hazardous work. Only one in five child labourers is paid - most are unpaid family workers, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Pervasive poverty is both a main cause and consequence of child labour in rural areas. Hazardous work often harms a child\'s health, safety or morals. A child working in fields where pesticides have been applied, staying up all night on a fishing boat, or carrying loads so heavy that they harm the development of the child\'s body - all these are far too common examples of hazardous work in agriculture. \"Child labour is a human rights abuse and is an obstacle to sustainable development of agriculture and food security,\" said FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva. \"Work that harms children\'s health and development can have long-lasting effects into adulthood, and child labour has been repeatedly shown to have a negative impact on education. Child labour also strongly undermines efforts to promote decent youth employment, a key element in revitalizing agriculture around the world and reducing poverty,\" he added. Every year on June 12, World Day against Children labour is observed to create awareness about the rights of children and against the social evil involving child labour. This year the theme of the day was \"Human Rights and Social Justice – Let’s End Child Labour\" as set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). (QNA)