Supporting Deforestation-Free Value Chains Through Voluntary Agreements: The ARABICA Project in Action The new European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is set to be implemented starting at the end of 2025. This means that agricultural producers worldwide, who wish to remain eligible for the EU market, should start adapting to the legislation’s requirements. Producers of commodities such as coffee, cacao, and soy will need to prove that their products are not originating from an area that has been deforested after December 2020. Our ARABICA project is working closely with women coffee producers to support them prepare for the upcoming regulation. In November 2024, the project team was at the International Coffee Week in Brazil, engaging with frontrunners in sustainable coffee production and defining next steps. Read the highlights and watch inspiring videos from leading women entrepreneurs! At the conference, which was held in Belo Horizonte, the Brazilian coffee sector showcased their most innovative products with a focus on the upcoming EUDR. The new policy will pose significant implications for Brazil, which is a major exporter for agricultural products like coffee and soy into the EU market. Through the new regulation, exports to the EU market can be forbidden if not proven to be 100% deforestation-free. To ensure Brazilian coffee producers—especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs)—remain eligible for the EU market, the ARABICA project was launched in the summer of 2024. The aim of the project is to sensitise producers to the scope and requirements of the new legislation, with a focus on women- and youth-led businesses. Building on experience from projects involving voluntary agreements, the CSCP conducted a participatory workshop with women coffee producers to explore how the requirements of the EUDR could be translated into a voluntary agreement. The producers’ specific needs and challenges were discussed in addition to outlining the business advantages of voluntary agreements. The idea of this approach is to support producers in getting familiar with the new legislation through creating an open space for knowledge sharing and inviting them to co-develop practical solutions for compliance. This participatory approach ensures that the resulting voluntary agreements reflect the producers’ realities while fostering ownership and commitment to sustainable practices. As the project nears completion, the finalised and co-created voluntary agreement is planned to be signed by all participants in 2025. This will be an essential first step in promoting a sustainable coffee sector in Brazil as well as aligning with the EUDR. The ARABICA project emphasises Brazil’s immense potential to become a global leader in sustainability, given its vast natural resources and agricultural capacity. At the CSCP, we are engaged not only in collaborating with key actors in Brazil but also building bridges and facilitating constructive dialogue with stakeholders in other countries, such as the example of the CacauiCultura project in Costa Rica. Watch inspiring interviews with women entrepreneurs! If you would like to learn more about the work of the coffee producers involved in the ARABICA project and how they are pioneering sustainable coffee production in Brazil, watch the series of videos below featuring the women who lead the involved companies. Inês Vinci, coffee producer and exporter, explaining the importance of the project for her work By loading the video, you agree to Vimeo's privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock Vimeo Thalita Gomes, lawyer, small-scale coffee producer, explaining the impact that EUDR has on the Brazilian coffee sector By loading the video, you agree to Vimeo's privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock Vimeo Danielle Baliza, coffee producer and researcher, talking about the importance of women-led entrepreneurship in the coffee sector By loading the video, you agree to Vimeo's privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock Vimeo Miriam Aguiar, coffee producer, explaining how she applies regenerative agriculture for coffee production at her farm in Minas Gerais, Brazil. By loading the video, you agree to Vimeo's privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock Vimeo The ARABICA project is funded as part of the Al-INVEST Verde programme. For further information, please contact Cristina Fedato.