But this number pales in comparison to the estimated two million of Brazil's children working as cheap labor, according to the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers. Although the incomes are negligible, parents in economically depressed areas depend on the revenue brought in by four or five children and are often reluctant to send their offspring to school. Brazil last year committed itself to the ambitious target of making sure every child aged seven to 14 attends class, as required by law. The Child Citizen program, one of its weapons in the fight, has already been introduced in sisal plantations in Bahia, charcoal kilns in Mato Grosso do Sul and sugar cane plantations in Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco states. But the project has yet to be extended to Sao Paulo state, where most of the country's orange groves and processing industries are located.
Brazil is the world's biggest producer and exporter of orange juice.
In distant regions the problem is probably much worse. The ministry statement said in addition to paying parents to send their children to school, it would pay an additional 25 reais per child per month to state governments to fund extra-curricular education and leisure activities. However, a lack of schools was hampering government efforts in some of the poorest states, such as Pernambuco in the north-east. Charcoal kiln owners who had previously employed children eventually helped set up the schools, she added. The government hopes to expand the project in Pernambuco to include 60,000 children, up from 27,300 at the moment.