Opportunities and obstacles: How to ensure Vietnamese smallholder coffee farmers are ready for the EUDR

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Vietnam is the world’s second-largest coffee producer, accounting for approximately 17% of global output and providing livelihoods for over two million rural households. The EU is one of Vietnam’s most important export markets, accounting for over 40% of the country’s total coffee export.

Fern’s Vietnamese partners, the Centre for Rural Development (SRD) surveyed close to two thousand coffee farming households in six Vietnamese provinces and conducted in depth interviews with farmers, local officials, enterprises and cooperatives. Based on this research, SRD recommend:

That the EU increase support to Vietnamese authorities to enforce deforestation controls, increase land use transparency, and develop a traceability system that fits the realities of smallholder farmers.

That the EU and Vietnamese government increase support and capacity building for smallholders, especially in remote areas and for ethnic minority communities and women.

That the EU and Vietnamese government provide user friendly guidance tools for applying geolocation technologies, noting that the vast majority of smallholders have access to smartphones.

The EU Deforestation Regulation has been an opportunity to bring relevant stakeholder together at the national and regional levels to advance the fight against deforestation and set up systems for legality. The Vietnamese government and businesses have invested significantly in compliance. Increased support to smallholders will ensure both sustainable coffee production and maintained access to the EU market.

Categories: Reports, EU Regulation on deforestation-free products, Vietnam