ARLINGTON, VA, USA – In response to the European Commission’s updated guidance on the EU Deforestation Regulations (EUDR) and proposal to delay implementation of the regulations until December 2025, TechnoServe Global Coffee Director Paul Stewart issued the following comment:
“The recommendation by the European Commission to delay implementation of EUDR until December 2025 is the right decision for coffee farmers.
EUDR is a critical tool for protecting the environment and combating climate change. However, the lack of preparedness felt by many across the coffee sector risked leaving millions of smallholder farmers without access to markets that are critical to their livelihoods–not because these farmers contribute to deforestation, but because the systems are not yet in place to prove that they don’t.
Without the looming December 2024 deadline, the sector has time to work collaboratively on solutions that ensure smallholder farmers can access markets and benefit from more transparent supply chains.
This must include the hard work of building collaboration between the private and public sectors to stop deforestation, rather than simply redirecting commodities from deforested land to other markets.
Ultimately, EUDR has the potential to benefit both the planet and smallholder livelihoods. We must work together over the next 12 months to turn that opportunity into reality,” concluded TechnoServe Global Coffee Director.
