Climate change and loss of biodiversity are serious risks to life on Earth. This is why the European Commission introduced the European Green Deal (EGD) in 2019. The EGD includes plans that are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the use of resource while still promoting economic growth. This means that products sold in the European Union (EU) must satisfy stricter sustainability standards.
Currently, smallholder farmers and cooperatives can only seek financial and technical assistance via bilateral development mechanisms, European NGOs and voluntary sustainability standards. This alone does not resolve the size and income restrictions. The EU should lift the restriction on group size limitation or otherwise subsidise the certification costs so that producers do not fall out of the organic certification and return to conventional production.
Martin Schüller, Senior Advisor Development Policies, Climate & Environment, Fairtrade
In the short term, producers in the Global South may be impacted by EU legislation like EUDR because of the lack of understanding of what is required and why it is important. They will have to invest in more sustainable production and traceability, which means higher costs that must be distributed fairly. In the long run, producers and importers may benefit from higher demand for sustainable agricultural products, and from the more efficient and transparent supply chains they have built to respond to EU requirements.
Somoye Otieno, Commercial Director, Konza Tropicals Limited
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The EU Green Deal and how it will affect your business
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