There's a lot to do.
The deadline for large enterprises to implement the EUDR regulations is December 30, 2025, and for small, medium, and micro enterprises is June 30, 2026.
From this point onwards, companies cannot export coffee to the European market unless they can prove that their products are not linked to deforestation after December 31, 2020.
With only one year left and a huge workload, Dak Nong province needs to act quickly, efficiently, and accurately to meet this regulation.
According to Mr. Pham Tuan Anh, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has taken many early steps to adapt to EUDR regulations. However, a large amount of work remains to be done to meet the various criteria.
Specifically, the implementation of the EUDR regulations still faces many difficulties and challenges. These include the limited availability of guidance documents and related materials.
The province's database on forests and plantation areas is not yet synchronized and detailed down to each plot and garden section. Tracing the origin and registering planting area codes in the province is facing many difficulties.
The participation and collaboration of relevant stakeholders, including purchasing and exporting businesses, remain limited. The province faces difficulties in securing the necessary resources and technical expertise to implement the required interventions and solutions in addressing the EUDR regulations.
5 important steps
According to experts, Dak Nong needs to take five crucial steps immediately to adapt to the EURD regulations: building and recognizing a database of growing areas; establishing zoning criteria based on risk levels suitable to the local reality for different product sectors; building a database of orchards; building and implementing a product traceability system by region; and establishing a mechanism for sharing and providing feedback on product information.
First and foremost, Dak Nong needs to quickly develop a standardized database on forests and non-deforestation-prone growing areas. This database must be specific, accurate, consistent, and updated annually to facilitate coffee exports for businesses.
In this regard, at the EUDR Regulation Workshop held in Gia Nghia City in November 2024, Mr. Bui Duc Hao, representative of the Vietnam Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), stated that having a synchronized dataset on forests and plantation areas is crucial.
According to Mr. Hao, IDH has implemented a project to build a database of planting areas in Lam Dong and Dak Lak provinces. IDH has developed a data framework on forests and planting areas.
The data includes information on agricultural and forestry land use planning; forests, land administration, and land without existing land registration records. These are experiences and best practices that Dak Nong can learn from, refer to, and use to shape its own approach in meeting EUDR regulations.
Also at the workshop, Mr. Bach Thanh Tuan, Vice President of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, said that Dak Nong has actively acted to adapt to the EUDR, but the most essential thing is still coordination to produce a standardized database on forests and growing areas.
Dak Nong needs support for localities and businesses to propose a framework for action from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding EUDR regulations and to legalize it so that it can be implemented systematically.
The application of science and technology is necessary to digitize and accurately record domestic and international data on the province's agricultural production areas.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung, Director of Agricultural Development at Simexco Dak Lak Import-Export Trading Company Limited, believes that businesses need to be more proactive in participating in activities related to EUDR regulations.
Currently, many businesses want the province to have specific, accurate, and non-duplicated data on growing areas to meet the main contents and conditions of the EUDR regulations: coordinates, origin, labor, agreements, etc.
Mr. Truong Tat Do, from the Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated that the Department will actively cooperate with Dak Nong province to develop maps of cultivation areas categorized by suitability, risk, and high risk. The Dak Nong provincial government and relevant agencies should promptly confirm the specific agricultural production area for each region to ensure data consistency and legality.
Providing further information on this matter, Mr. Pham Tuan Anh, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, affirmed that the unit is strengthening coordination with other departments, sectors, and localities to obtain unified and clear figures, and initial results have been achieved.
From this, the province obtained a database and map of areas originating from deforestation after December 30, 2020. The province developed a map of forests and forest land throughout the province to integrate into the national database, creating a system of forest data, maps, and information that meets the requirements of the EUDR regulations.
From this dataset, the province can easily take the next steps to build and recognize a database on growing areas; build a database of orchards including GPS positioning and polygons for each orchard; build a mechanism for sharing and providing feedback on information…
According to Pham Tuan Anh, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the unit is proactively coordinating with relevant agencies to advise the Provincial People's Committee on adjusting the action plan framework to adapt to EUDR regulations in accordance with the prescribed timeframe.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with IDH, is developing a plan to support Dak Nong province in creating a database of growing areas and traceability systems to meet EUDR requirements.
Initially, both sides agreed to implement the project in 1-2 districts in Dak Nong. Based on these models, they will then provide guidance and propose intervention solutions to support other areas.
Within the framework of the Project on Comprehensive Sustainable Landscape Management through a Non-Deforestation Sustainable Development Area Approach in Lam Dong and Dak Nong, Vietnam (iLandscape), the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, IDH, and UNDP, has reached a consensus on establishing a provincial-level coffee industry forum.
This is one of the strategic steps aimed at strengthening coordination among stakeholders and ensuring sustainable coffee production and trade, in accordance with EUDR regulations.
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/nhung-viec-dak-nong-can-lam-ngay-de-thich-ung-quy-dinh-eudr-238778.html
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