EU to help coffee farmers comply with forest rules

European Union (EU) will extend support to Kenya coffee farmers to comply with the deforestation regulations, a senior official has disclosed.

Delegation of the EU to Kenya First counsellor and head of trade section Filippo Amato said the European Commission (EC) has applied to the European Parliament to have the deforestation regulations extended by one year to give coffee producers an opportunity to comply with the regulations.

“We are hopeful that the application will be considered before the end of the year. Over and above that we are developing programmes aimed at building capacity for the farmers to comply with the EUDR,” he said.

He added: “We anticipated a situation where farmers were not ready to immediately start implementing the EU Deforestation Regulations (EUDR) due to weak capacity and therefore under many programmes the regional bloc is underrating locally, and in the region, there will be extension of technical support to the farmers.” Amato made the remarks during a breakfast meeting organised by the Fairtrade and Kenya Coffee Platform (KCP) at a Nairobi hotel.

Felix Mutwiri, the acting director of the coffee directorate at the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) confirmed that the national government has constituted an inter-ministerial steering committee with members drawn from various public and private sectors.

The committee, he said will come up with a clear roadmap how the EUDRs will be achieved locally. KCP chairman Karugu Macharia hailed efforts currently being pursued to assist farmers comply with the EUDR.

“As an organisation we have managed to bring together all stakeholders to reason together in terms of ensuring the regulations are adopted and implemented as well,” he said. Over and above complying with the EUDR regulations, Karugu stated that stakeholders are fast-tracking other strategies focusing on enhancing soil tests, extending farm inputs subsidies to boost production.

“Kenya was doing well in terms of coffee output between the mid-1980’s and early 1990s registering the highest production of 130,000 tonnes in the 1987/88 coffee year, but currently is oscillating between 40,000 and 50,000 tonnes. Recently the EU Commission announced a proposal for a further 12 months of “phasing-in” time for the implementation of the EUDR that seeks to enhance traceability of coffee.

Further, the extension is as well as the publication of its long-awaited guidelines and updated frequently asked questions relating to the regulations.

Businesses within the scope of the EUDR will have a further 12 months to comply with the requirements.

Under the EU Commission’s proposal, which will need to be approved by the European Parliament, EUDR will enter into force on, December 30, 2025 for large companies, rather than December 30, 2024, and June 30, 2026 for micro- and small enterprises, rather than 30 June 2025. This extra 12 months is intended to serve as a “phasing-in period” to ensure proper and effective implementation of the EUDR.

EUDR dictates that companies must provide a due diligence statement and “verifiable” information, such as satellite images of the plots where the coffee was grown or face large fines.

Amato said coffee value chain will equally receive support under the regional initiative on improving market access upgrade programme to the EU that is funded by the International Trade Centre. Parliamentary coffee caucus chairman Duncan Mathenge, confirmed that the legislature is working with other stakeholders to ensure a sound roadmap is crafted to ensure farmers comply with the EUDR.

“We have approached the matter from various angles, for example, President William Ruto has been able to rally the African Union to seek for the extension which by the end of the year is expected to happen when the European parliament approves it,” he said.