Ethiopian Coffee Farmers Rushing To Meet EUDR Requirements In Time – CoffeeTalk

Ethiopian coffee farmers are grappling with new European Union environmental rules that require them to document the origin of every shipment of beans. The new measure, formally known as the E.U. Deforestation Regulation, is designed to prevent deforestation driven by agricultural expansion. To comply, farmers must provide geolocation data to show that their coffee was not grown on land where forests have recently been cut down. After Dec. 31, any producers that cannot will lose access to the vast European market.

Europe consumes more coffee than any country or bloc in the world, and experts say the new rule, formally known as the E.U. Deforestation Regulation, is a potentially powerful tool to promote sustainable agriculture and prevent forest destruction. However, it also represents what some are calling a “green squeeze” that imposes heavy burdens on millions of small farmers in developing countries that have contributed the least to climate change.

Ethiopia is the top coffee producer in Africa, and the crop accounts for about 35 percent of the country’s revenue. The arabica variety, smooth and mild with fruity and nutty notes, originated in the country’s southwestern highlands. More than a third of Ethiopia’s coffee goes to Europe. According to a French government report last year, E.U. consumption is responsible for 44 percent of coffee-related deforestation worldwide. Another report by the World Resources Institute, an environmental group, found that nearly two million hectares of forest cover had been replaced by coffee plantations between 2001 and 2025.

Global leaders pledged in 2021 at a climate summit in Glasgow to end deforestation by 2030. The agreement underscored a growing awareness of the role of nature in tackling the climate crisis. Intact forests are natural storehouses of planet-warming carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere, where, as carbon dioxide, it speeds warming by trapping the sun’s heat. When forests are cleared, those areas switch to releasing greenhouse gases and harms the forest’s biodiversity, its variety of life, by disrupting habitat.

The new E.U. rule also covers cattle, cocoa, palm oil, rubber, and other crops. Coffee shipments without proper mapping data can be rejected or confiscated, and the importer can be fined. However, some experts say the measure is being implemented without the necessary support for farmers. Jodie Keane, an economist at ODI Global, said the European Union and major coffee chains should do more to help small farmers.

Ethiopian coffee farmers take pride in their high-quality beans, a result of exceptional heirloom varieties, high altitudes, and traditional farming practices. However, analysts say that while the new E.U. standards could reorder the Ethiopian coffee sector, they probably will not halt sales. Countries like China offer alternative, less-rigid markets, and Ethiopians themselves are big coffee drinkers.

Tsegaye Anebo, who heads the Sidama Coffee Union, which represents 70,000 farmers, said pivoting to new markets would be disruptive in the short term. He noted that his region’s Sidamo variety, distinctive for its fruity tones, was a favorite in wealthy Europe, and that giving up on the E.U. market is not an option.

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