Kenyan coffee farmers and exporters have received a reprieve as the European Union (EU) postponed the implementation of its Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by one year. The regulation, which was set to impose stringent sourcing rules for commodities linked to deforestation, now gives Kenya additional time to align with the EU’s requirements.
The EUDR mandates that companies provide a due diligence statement and “verifiable” proof, such as satellite images, showing the origin of the coffee grown. Failure to comply could result in hefty fines.
Co-operatives Principal Secretary Patrick Kilemi welcomed the delay, saying it would allow Kenya sufficient time to fully comply. He noted that the government has set up an inter-ministerial team to ensure compliance across various ministries, including ICT and Agriculture.
“We as a country are really keen on complying with EUDR, and through the work, we did with the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS) mapping our farmers, we will be able to geo-locate them to demonstrate to the EU and the world our coffee is not from deforested zones,” said Kilemi.
The EUDR aims to prevent the import of commodities linked to deforestation, including coffee, cocoa, soy, palm oil, rubber, and cattle. Companies will need to provide verifiable data about where their products originated, with satellite images of the farms being a key requirement.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that 420 million hectares of forest were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020, accounting for around 10% of global deforestation.
New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (NKPC) Managing Director Timothy Mirugi highlighted challenges in coffee production, citing climate change’s impact, including pests, diseases, and irregular rainfall. “Coffee farming is getting hit due to climate change with increased pests and diseases, light coffee beans due to lack of rainfall, and irregular early or main crop due to coffee bushes being stressed,” he explained. He urged farmers to support the government’s greening campaign, which aims to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, including more coffee bushes.
Kilemi also mentioned that Kenya would engage the EU to recognize coffee bushes as “decarbonizers,” allowing farmers to benefit from carbon credits. “Coffee bushes are like other trees, hence should be classified to help farmers benefit from carbon credit money,” he said.
The deforestation rules, initially adopted in April 2023 to combat climate change and biodiversity loss, aim to prevent deforestation linked to EU consumption of several products, including coffee. While the rules came into effect in June 2023, companies were originally required to comply by December 30, 2024. However, in response to concerns from EU member states, non-EU countries, and traders, the deadline has been pushed to December 30, 2025, for large operators, and until June 30, 2026, for micro- and small enterprises. This extension is intended to help operators worldwide implement the regulations smoothly without undermining their objectives.
Additionally, Parliament has introduced amendments, including the creation of a “no risk” category for countries with stable or increasing forest areas. Countries in this category will face less stringent requirements, given the negligible risk of deforestation. The European Commission will finalize a benchmarking system for this classification by June 30, 2025.
