TANZANIA – The Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) has initiated a comprehensive registration of all coffee farmers in the country, aiming to protect Tanzania’s access to the European Union (EU) coffee market.
This move comes in response to the new EU Regulations on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR), which require that coffee imported into the EU from December 30, 2024, must not contribute to environmental degradation.
The EUDR mandates that coffee must be produced on land that was not deforested after December 31, 2020, and in accordance with relevant national and local laws.
Failure to comply with these regulations could lead to the suspension of contracts by EU importers, a situation that would negatively impact Tanzanian coffee farmers, whose livelihoods depend on this trade.
With the EU accounting for approximately 50 percent of Tanzania’s coffee exports, meeting these environmental regulations is critical for maintaining market access.
In 2022, Tanzania earned US$116.52 million from the export of coffee, tea, mate, and spices to the EU, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database.
Primus Kimaryo, Director General of TCB, emphasized the importance of the registration process, which will officially recognize coffee farms and ensure that their operations are environmentally sustainable.
“We will start the registration in Kagera, which produces over 40 percent of Tanzania’s coffee, and then extend it to the other 16 coffee-producing regions. Every farmer will be registered by providing their identification, having their photo taken, and documenting their farm and its coffee production history,” Kimaryo explained.
The registration, which begins in September 2024 and runs through January 2025, aims to demonstrate that Tanzania’s coffee production does not contribute to deforestation.
TCB is collaborating with local councils, agricultural officers, cooperative officers, and university students to fast-track the process and meet the compliance deadline.
Additional, TCB is working to increase Tanzania’s coffee production. The board has implemented a strategy to boost production from the current 81,000 tons to 300,000 tons by the 2025/26 harvesting season.
This strategy seeks to enhance the quality of Tanzanian coffee to stabilize the country’s position in international markets and secure better prices for farmers.
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