The Rainforest Alliance has launched a report allowing cocoa and coffee producers to share existing farm data and assessment information directly with buyers, complementing its transaction-based traceability system.
Announced on 3 November, the EUDR Producer Report brings together information intended to demonstrate alignment with the European Union Deforestation Regulation. The organisation says producers can use it to answer enquiries from existing customers and support discussions with potential trading partners.
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For cocoa producers, the practical change is how they can present that information. Rather than assembling documents from several sources or relying on data sharing associated with a recorded transaction, certificate holders can download a package to share separately.
According to the announcement, the package contains a Farm Certificate Holder EUDR alignment document, including a deforestation risk assessment, legality information and farm geolocation data in GeoJSON format.
The report draws on information producers have already supplied for assessments and audits. Rainforest Alliance says the information belongs to producers and that the new tool makes it easier to retrieve and use.
“Producers have invested considerable time and effort in meeting EUDR-aligned requirements,” said Yuri Feres, the organisation’s country director for Brazil.
“They should be able to put that investment to use when working with buyers. This report gives them a practical way to present the information they already hold, whether responding to an existing customer or discussing a potential new trading relationship.”
Certification and EUDR Alignment Are Separate
The launch builds on Rainforest Alliance’s existing programme of farm assessments, geolocation data collection, legality checks and traceability.
Its published guidance identifies five additional EUDR-aligned requirements for cocoa and coffee farm certificate holders. Failure to meet these requirements does not affect certification status, a distinction that matters when buyers assess what a supplier’s certification demonstrates.
The organisation’s alignment policy covers farm mapping, measures against corruption, evidence of applicable tax payments and restrictions on forest conversion after 31 December 2020. These requirements form part of Rainforest Alliance’s own alignment framework.
Certificate holders must resolve all non-conformities against the additional requirements to secure verification of EUDR alignment and appear on the organisation’s public list. That list is intended to help downstream businesses identify suppliers meeting the framework, according to the alignment policy.
The producer report provides a way to present supporting information. The announcement does not establish that downloading or sharing it is sufficient to demonstrate fulfilment of every applicable EUDR obligation.
Commercial Benefits Still to Be Demonstrated
Rainforest Alliance says more than 1,000 coffee and cocoa farm certificate holders across 22 countries have met its EUDR-aligned requirements. Together, they represent more than one million farms and nearly two million farmers and workers, according to the organisation.
Those figures cover both commodities. The announcement provides neither a cocoa-only breakdown nor figures showing how many certificate holders have downloaded or shared the new report.
It also provides no evidence of additional sales, new contracts or price premiums resulting from its use. The proposed commercial benefit is that producers can more readily show prospective buyers the work they have already completed.
For buyers, the package offers another route to supplier information. Its usefulness will depend on whether the documentation answers their enquiries and can be incorporated into their assessment processes.
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Coffee and cocoa farm certificate holders can access the report through their Power BI accounts, Rainforest Alliance says. The tool complements the organisation’s existing transaction-based data sharing.
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The immediate development is greater producer control over how existing documentation is presented to buyers. That could make previous investment in mapping and assessments more useful when seeking customers. Whether it creates new trading opportunities will require evidence from producers and buyers using the report.
- Read more on the EUDR:
Anthony Myers