PRONATEC cocoa: ready for the EU Deforestation Regulation

Our customers can have confidence in us: step by step, we are making sure that PRONATEC's organic and fair trade cocoa products comply with the new EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains. Here is an overview of the requirements of the new EU Deforestation Regulation and the measures we are taking.

The EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains was officially passed on 19 April 2023. It means that, from the end of 2024, food producers will have to prove that the cocoa they use comes from deforestation-free sources (see the official EU website). We are ensuring that our cocoa beans, cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa powder comply with the legal requirements.

How are we complying with the EU regulation on deforestation-free supply chains?

Our cocoa may only be traded or marketed in the EU or exported if it complies with all the requirements:

• deforestation-free (no deforestation since 31.12.2020)
• produced in accordance with the legal requirements of the producer country (e.g. laws on deforestation, forest management, nature conservation areas and agroforestry regulations)
• due diligence statement has been completed

For every container that we import into the EU, we have to show the right documentation. Our customers can be confident at all times that we have obtained all the necessary information for their batch of cocoa beans and that the consignment complies with the regulations.

New "abunda" software for digitally recording georeferenced data

Working in partnership with Hipper Consult, PRONATEC has started developing software that makes it possible to digitally record georeferenced data for every single plot of cultivated land. A new smartphone app will make carrying out risk analysis and recording the state of deforestation easier, while the data can be accessed and evaluated on a web-based platform. The software has been used since spring 2023 in a pilot project to record all the plots of land cultivated by the smallholder organisation FUNDOPO, which supplies our subsidiary YACAO. Then the data is analysed using a GIS (Geographic Information System) and the Global Forest Watch tool. In the future, the "abunda" software will also enable all the tasks associated with organic and fair trade certifications to be digitalised.

Current status of risk analysis in countries of origin

As part of the due diligence that we must carry out as an importer, we have to carry out a risk analysis for each of our cocoa-producing countries. This is where our closeness to our local producers stands us in good stead.

The risk analysis for our main growing region, the Dominican Republic, has been completed. This also included a study entitled "Life Cycle Assessment of Cocoa from the Dominican Republic", in which PRONATEC was one of the partner companies involved. This paper, Silvan Wanner's Master's thesis, was published by ZHAW, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, in summer 2023 and examined the environmental footprint of cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic.

Cocoa growing in the Dominican Republic is characterised by what are called agroforestry systems: the cocoa trees are grown in mixed cultivation with other crops and trees that provide shade. That is good for the fertility of the soil, increases resilience to climate change and encourages biodiversity. The "abunda" software pilot project is providing us with accurate data for developing further measures.

Current measures to protect forests

Other measures to protect forests and carry out reforestation:

• Dominican Republic:
  
  
  • Encouraging agroforestry systems, sharing best practice
  • Raising awareness through training courses and on-site inspections
  • Tree nurseries: FUNDOPO has two and two more are being prepared
  • Production of local seedlings for sale at cost price

• Peru:
  • Here too, "abunda" will be used for risk analysis and for developing new measures, in connection with a project being carried out with HELVETAS and other partners

• Madagascar:
  • Smallholders with small plots (no monoculture), a partner project with HELVETAS and others to protect the Sambirano water catchment area

• Panama:
  • Growing cocoa in agroforestry

• Sierra Leone:
  • Exemplary cocoa farming (independent study carried out by Bureau Waardenburg with our partner Lizard Earth)

For detailed information on the Deforestation Act, please see our latest webinar "PRONATEC INSiGHT" on 27.06.23.