The theme of this year’s International Day of Forests is forests and economies, which is relevant given that companies bringing coffee and cocoa (among other products) into the European Union will soon need to show it hasn’t come from deforested land, thanks to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) which should come into effect at the end of this year.

Proof comes in the form of geolocation data. Every farm plot where cocoa or coffee coming into the EU was grown must have its geolocation coordinates documented, either with a single point (for plots smaller than four hectares), or a “polygon” shape that traces the perimeter of larger plots through multiple geolocation points.

Even though it’s the responsibility of the importer to provide this data to the EU, the reality is that farmer cooperatives are being asked for this information. 

It’s a competitive advantage for cooperatives to have high quality data ready to go once the EUDR comes into effect, and it’s also important for their own ability to monitor and prevent deforestation.

What does collecting geolocation data involve, and why is it so complicated?

We sat down with the team leads of Fairtrade Africa’s West Africa Cocoa Programme, Dimitri Sidoine in Côte d’Ivoire and Baaman Chatin covering Ghana and Sierra Leone, to learn more.

Navigating the technical aspects of deforestation prevention

The basis of deforestation monitoring is having data about the location of farm plots. But this data collection and management is a newer skill for many farmers and producer cooperative staff. Having the right technology and the know-how to collect geolocation data points is a first step.

Fairtrade Africa teams saw similar data quality challenges once cooperatives started collecting geolocation data, such as:

• Having a single point instead of a polygon for a farm over four hectares
• Errors in coordinates, which result in overlapping plots, or non-feasible plot shapes
• Duplicates, for instance if the same plot was recorded with two different farmer ID numbers

Keeping on top of the data also requires significant management, as members may leave a cooperative, plots can change hands, or be divided amongst children in a family, so records need to be regularly updated. 

Context is everything: how Fairtrade tailors support to cooperatives

Fairtrade Africa started informing cocoa cooperatives about the EUDR in West Africa several years ago. Fairtrade staff then started phasing in training and support specifically on data collection and the data formats required by the EUDR.

But cooperatives have different capacities, so different approaches are needed.

To cover more than 240 cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire, Dimitri and a team of data analysts conduct a lot of remote support. They also leverage other trainings – for instance, on other aspects of the Fairtrade Standards – to add on EUDR and geolocation data management topics. In Ghana, with eight cooperatives, support can be more hands-on.

“There are certain things that aren’t solved in a one-time training,” said Baaman. “So, we provide continuous backstopping, coaching them so they can build their cooperatives’ capacity to collect and manage geolocation data properly.”

For instance, Fairtrade Africa data analysts work with the cooperatives to flag data errors and support corrections.

Fairtrade’s partnership with nature tech firm Satelligence means that cooperatives can submit their geolocation data and have it analysed against satellite imagery of forested areas as of a cut-off date of 2018. A new Fairtrade digital platform will soon allow cooperatives to upload their data directly, see their plots visualised, and receive a risk report within minutes, among other functionalities.

Fairtrade staff also support data literacy, which isn’t a given for many farmers. Through Fairtrade’s Young Cooperative Managers Academy and Women’s School of Leadership in West Africa, a younger generation of farmers is gaining skills in management, and also usually have more tech savvy to support cooperatives with data management and analysis.

The importance of partnerships

One of the assumptions of the EUDR is that traders have a lot of the farm geolocation data of their farmer suppliers. The theory is that these traders should be able to supply this data to their buyers further down the supply chain.

This is true in some cases. Fairtrade Africa staff have helped to facilitate connections between traders and some of the cooperatives they are buying from. For instance, several large traders have been working with a small number of cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire to build organisational capacity, including when it comes to dealing with the EUDR.

However, of more than 240 Fairtrade cocoa cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire, Dimitri estimates that fewer than 100 have data from trader partners. This means it’s all the more important that they collect their own data, and have it within their own control.

A number of partner-funded projects also contribute to supporting forests as well as farmer livelihoods. The Partnership for Deforestation-Free Cocoa Supply Chain in Ghana, funded by the International Climate Initiative and co-funded by Fairtrade Germany, is one example. The project supports EUDR readiness, as well as dynamic agroforestry adoption, income diversification, and leadership development for women and young people, as a holistic approach to developing forests and farm economies that work for everyone.

Seeing progress

Baaman and Dimitri notice a difference between where cooperatives where several years ago, and where they are today. The quality of data being submitted by cooperatives has improved, and there is greater understanding of EUDR requirements and the value of data ownership.

“Some cooperatives are quite competent to handle the process of data collection and correction alone now,” said Baaman. “It shows they are developing their skills to handle their data management. Nonetheless, our doors are still open to support them when they need it.”

However, building and sustaining this capacity takes resources, both financial and human.

“All of this is possible if cooperatives have enough market, and can sell enough on Fairtrade terms,” meaning earning the Fairtrade Premium for these sales, said Dimitri. “They can invest their Fairtrade Premium funds in data management infrastructure, for instance, but they also have other needs. If they are only selling 100 metric tonnes as Fairtrade, it’s not enough to support the costs of collecting and managing all this data each year.”

That’s why Fairtrade requires traders to support the cooperatives they buy from in their deforestation prevention and mitigation efforts. Plus, Fairtrade continues to call on companies and governments to do more to make sure the burden of the EUDR  is not falling unfairly on farmers.

It’s also why buying Fairtrade is an important way to support forest-friendly cocoa. Reinforcing farmer livelihoods and protecting forests can – and must – go together.