"Green tiling" on the sustainable coffee map

Coffee picking in Lam Ha

• PROACTIVELY TAKE ON CHALLENGES

EUDR, with its strict requirements on product origin and sustainability, is considered a new benchmark for countries exporting agricultural products, including coffee, to the European market. Realizing this, Lam Dong has proactively developed an action plan and implemented synchronous solutions to meet EUDR requirements, while enhancing the value and position of local coffee.

One of the important highlights is the propaganda work, raising awareness for people and businesses. Through many information channels, from websites, documents to electronic applications, people are fully equipped with knowledge about EUDR and sustainable farming measures. The province has also organized 15 training courses and seminars with the participation of officials, businesses and farmers, creating conditions for exchanging experiences and finding solutions.

To meet the requirements of traceability, Lam Dong has built a basic data system, including information on forestry land, forested and non-forested land at the provincial and district levels. This system is ready to be integrated into the database serving EUDR, helping to make information transparent and facilitate management and monitoring.

In particular, Lam Dong and Dak Lak provinces are pioneers in piloting the development of growing area maps according to EUDR regulations. The coffee map in Di Linh and Lac Duong with a total area of 50,952 hectares (accounting for 28.8% of the province's total area) has been completed, creating a premise for traceability and ensuring product sustainability.

Lam Dong’s efforts have yielded positive results. The number of deforestation violations has decreased significantly, from 252 cases (in 2020) to 82 cases (in 2024), equivalent to a 68% reduction. At the same time, the province has planted over 7.1 million trees to restore the landscape and reduce emissions, contributing to the goal of environmental protection.

• THERE ARE STILL BOTTOM LINES

Di Linh district has piloted traceability on 45,708 hectares of coffee, supporting more than 33,000 households. This system can be integrated into the district-level Intelligent Operation Center (IOC), helping to improve management and monitoring efficiency.

Despite initial successes, the province still faces many challenges in implementing this regulation. Detailed technical guidelines from the EU will not be completed until early 2025; the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ) will not issue technical documents on data retrieval and connection to serve the implementation of EUDR until February 2025. Currently, only 2 districts (Di Linh and Lac Duong) in the province have completed the map of growing areas; the remaining 8 localities have not yet implemented it. The province is also lacking high-quality remote sensing images at the time of December 31, 2020 to compare and verify the origin of growing areas according to EUDR requirements. The traceability model has only been piloted in Di Linh district; localities still face difficulties in funding and technical capacity to maintain, operate the traceability system and manage the database. Regarding the public-private coordination mechanism, a provincial public-private working group has not been established.

To overcome these difficulties, Lam Dong is continuing to improve its data system, increase investment in technology, and improve the capacity of its staff and people. At the same time, close coordination is needed between relevant parties, from state management agencies, businesses to farmers.

With continuous efforts, Lam Dong is gradually affirming its position as one of the centers of sustainable coffee production. "Paving green bricks" on Lam Dong's coffee map is not only a solution to cope with climate change and international regulations, but also an inevitable direction to build a sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202505/lat-gach-xanh-tren-ban-do-ca-phe-ben-vung-ed44637/