{"id":20602,"date":"2024-07-10T20:46:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T20:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=20602"},"modified":"2024-07-10T20:46:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T20:46:04","slug":"ethiopian-agri-tech-joining-farmers-to-meet-european-union-eu-goals-on-fighting-deforestation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=20602","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopian Agri-tech Joining Farmers to Meet European Union (EU) Goals on fighting Deforestation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 26 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) aims to ensure that products imported into the EU do not contribute to deforestation. It\u2019s crucial for Ethiopian and African farmers to comply quickly to maintain access to the EU market, which is vital for their economic stability and growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf farmers and producers do not comply with EUDR, they risk losing\u00a0orders from EU buyers, leading to significant economic losses<\/a>,\u201d said Gregory Sampson, Solutions Architect at the UN International Trade Centre (ITC). \u201cAs of now, there is no indication of an extension or flexibility on the December 30, 2024 deadline, making prompt action essential,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

ITC provides technical assistance, capacity building, and training to help countries meet EUDR regulations, supporting both farmers and producers, and government and industry bodies.<\/p>\n

But meeting EUDR requirements by the end of 2024 is a major challenge, particularly for Ethiopian coffee exporters, as many of the stakeholders are not aware of the upcoming regulations.<\/p>\n

In response, Orbit Innovation Hub in Addis Ababa, in partnership with the ITC Netherlands Trust Fund V Ethiopia Tech\u00a0project<\/a>, organized a symposium dedicated to exploring the potential of agritech in improving access to markets and finance.<\/p>\n

Some 140 representative from the tech sector, local and international NGOs, government, banks, farmers and exporters attended the symposium to learn the importance of adopting traceability systems, understanding the regulation\u2019s requirements, and the need for collaboration among stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvents like the symposium in Ethiopia are critical as they provide a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and exchanging best practices related to EUDR compliance,\u201d Sampson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are facing a very short deadline, and one thing we understood from the discussions is that knowledge is very limited,\u201d added Saminas Seyfu, Orbit\u2019s director of communication and community development. \u201cAlthough agriculture and coffee is our backbone, there is no clear strategy on how to deal with the EU changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The European Union is Ethiopia\u2019s biggest single market. With 70% of Ethiopia\u2019s population living in rural areas and 85% of agricultural production coming from smallholder farmers, reliable access to markets like the EU can boost productivity, increase incomes, and strengthen food security in the country.<\/p>\n

But although smallholder farmers play a critical role in Ethiopia, they often face significant challenges in developing sustainable practices and accessing markets due to limited infrastructure, knowledge, information, and resources.<\/p>\n

Seyfu believes agri-tech can offer these producers a way to overcome these barriers and use technology to level up to international standards. Tech companies at the symposium suggested creating a matchmaking platform for agricultural ventures to find tech companies to collaborate with, and at least one tech start-up has already opened discussions with a coffee exporter on a new solution on traceability standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many complicated issues, some of them are cultural, others are digital literacy and collaboration between stakeholder companies. Everyone, from financial institutions, customs authorities, exporter certification providers, port inspectors, all need to understand what EUDR means. The EU is our biggest market; this is not something we can ignore,\u201d said Seyfu.<\/p>\n

Early compliance on the EUDR will enhance\u00a0the trust of EU buyers. Many of them may start diverting their orders and looking to source coffee from other countries that are\u00a0prepared\u00a0<\/a>for EUDR, noted Sampson.<\/p>\n

There has been an increasing demand for ITC\u2019s support in providing more assistance and training to ensure comprehensive compliance, and ITC is currently developing the Deforestation Free Trade Gateway, an online platform which will support small producers across the world comply with EUDR requirements, and connect them to international buyers.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommitment from the government, the private sector and business associations will prove\u00a0 critical, and leveraging tech in agriculture is the best way forward,\u201d Seyfu said. \u201cWe need to invest in this as agriculture is a way of life for most Ethiopian families. From the household to the nation, agriculture is everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just about Ethiopia,\u201d he added. \u201cWe need to also engage the African Union and make this a continent-wide agenda. Ethiopia can lead the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.<\/p>

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The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) aims to ensure that products imported into the EU do not contribute to deforestation. It\u2019s crucial for Ethiopian and African farmers to comply quickly… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}