Rwanda strikes deal to protect forests and secure European coffee markets

A new deal has been struck by Rwanda’s National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) and JDE Peet’s to safeguard local forests while ensuring continued access to European markets for smallholder coffee farmers. The upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), effective December 2024, will prohibit the export of coffee cultivated on land deforested after 2020. In response to this regulation, NAEB, JDE Peet’s, and Enveritas have committed to collaboratively address any coffee production that violates the new mandate. “The new regulation presents Rwanda with a formidable challenge, and it’s imperative that we rise to meet it in the coming months,” stated Claude Bizimana, CEO of NAEB. “Rwandan smallholder coffee farmers rely on the lucrative European markets for their livelihoods, and it’s essential that we take action to safeguard their income. Enveritas’ innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI) and on-the-ground verification marks a significant breakthrough ...