European deforestation regulation: companies must act now to prevent new regulation from jeopardizing smallholder farms in the Global South
12 months until the EU regulation for deforestation-free supply chains (EUDR) comes into force, many companies still do not have a solution.
The Tracer App from Plant-for-the-Planet is now available to smallholders free of charge and worldwide.
It uses satellite data to determine EUDR compliance.
Farmers gain control over their own data and time for solutions.
Felix Finkbeiner, founder of Plant-for-the-Planet, is available for an interview or background discussion.
Dear Sir or Madam,
January 25, 2024 - With the EUDR, the European Union has adopted very ambitious regulation on forest protection. It is essential in order to achieve the international goal of halting deforestation by 2030.
However, a lot could go wrong with its implementation, particularly for the smallholder farms affected in the Global South: Twelve months before the regulation comes into effect, many EU companies still have no solution on how to ensure that the imported produce was not grown on land deforested after 2020. According to a press release from the BVE [Federation of German Food Industries] - they are particularly critical of the bureaucratic hurdles and the administrative burden within the EU.
However, this attitude ignores a far greater problem: small farmers in the producing countries are largely unaware of what lies ahead for them. They do not know that they are no longer allowed to clear forest, nor do they know that the geographical data of their farms must be recorded in order to prove that their products are produced without deforestation.
Neither governmental nor economic or trade organizations have yet done adequate educational work with their trading partners - the producers.
If many small farmers from the Global South are no longer able to export to the EU at the end of the year, this could have considerable consequences:
Small farmers would lose their livelihoods.
There could be supply bottlenecks for important agricultural commodities such as coffee, cocoa, soy or wood.
For the protection of forests, a successful implementation of the law would be particularly important in order to motivate the USA and China to adopt similar legislation as quickly as possible. Without regulation for these two large markets, there is a risk that trade routes will simply shift and goods excluded from EU trade will be sold there.
Implementation of EUDR is possible without jeopardizing smallholder farms
Today, Plant-for-the-Planet is launching a free app that smallholder farmers can use to check their own farms and share their data with trading partners. With the app, they know within minutes whether they are allowed to continue importing into the EU. They retain control of their data and can adapt to the new market situation.
Initial tests with the Tracer software using thousands of real data sets from smallholder farmers showed that around 5-10% of producers do not comply with the new EU directive.
"My name is Joseph Kwao. I am the main farmer in my region. I found out that my farm does not comply with the new guidelines that control farms and cocoa farming. This means that I can no longer sell my harvest to the EU. The app was very helpful, thanks to it I now know the polygon of my farm." - Joseph Kwoa, cocoa farmer in Ghana
"My name is Abena Antiwaa, I am a farmer from Dompoase, Ghana. My farm is in Bodede. I didn't know about the new law on cocoa farming until I was approached by Plant-for-the-Planet. I am happy that my farm meets the new guidelines and that I can continue to sell my cocoa for export to the EU." - Abena Antiwaa, cocoa farmer in Ghana
Felix Finkbeiner, founder of Plant-for-the-Planet, is available for an interview on the introduction of the EUDR.
The following topics can be discussed in more detail in the interview:
Importance of the EUDR for achieving climate targets
Why China and the USA need to adopt similar laws urgently
What is going wrong with the introduction of the EUDR in Europe and in the producing countries
What needs to happen now to make the EUDR a success
More information on the app and the introduction of the European deforestation regulation can be found here and photos here.
To arrange an interview, please contact:
Tina Anjou Communications & PR
+49 (0)8808-9210825 | [email protected]
