Msinga teenager Zandi Xaba, 15, has not attended school since she was eight because she has seven mouths to feed.
For Xaba, who lives in the remote northern KwaZulu-Natal area, generating a meagre income has taken precedence over attending school .
Xaba, who this week found work on a potato farm, earns R300-R500 a month. "I don't want to go to school . I haven't been since 2000. I have a duty to help my family. There are seven mouths to feed."
Xaba's plight is reflected in a recent study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), that investigated child agricultural labour in three communities in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. It also looked at non- agricultural work .