A massive gap is forming in the race to comply with the European Union’s antideforestation rules, as smallholder farmers and suppliers struggle to meet the new requirements while agribusiness giants express confidence about being ready in time. Olam Agri and ofi, both subsidiaries of Singapore-headquartered food and agribusiness conglomerate Olam Group, told Mongabay they’re using advanced traceability and information systems to get ahead. By contrast, smallholders in countries like Honduras and Indonesia still lack critical information and resources to even begin the compliance process before the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) takes effect. In response to these and similar concerns from trade groups and exporting countries, the EU has agreed to delay the law’s implementation by a year from the initial start date of end-2024. Coffee is one of the seven commodities subject to the EUDR; the regulation will prohibit imports into the EU market of commodities sourced from land that was deforested after Dec. 31, 2020. Coffee will be heavily impacted by the new regulation: between 2001 and 2015, 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) of forest, an area about half the size of Switzerland, was cleared for coffee cultivation. And in 2023, half of the coffee exported from Honduras was destined for the EU. ofi carrying out agroforestry training. Image courtesy of ofi. Miguel Pon, executive president of the Association of Coffee Exporters of Honduras, told Mongabay by email that he believes “no more than 20 percent of all Honduras [coffee] producers are prepared with the points and polygons…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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