Monrovia—The Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA) on Thursday unveiled a proposed Nationwide Agriculture Traceability System Roadmap, outlining Liberia’s pathway towards compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
By J.H. Webster Clayeh (0886729972)[email protected]
The EUDR is a European Union regulation geared toward stopping deforestation and forest degradation linked to merchandise positioned on or exported to the EU market. Beneath the regulation, corporations should be certain that coated commodities are deforestation-free, legally produced based on the legal guidelines of the nation of origin, and absolutely traceable by way of a due-diligence system, together with relocation of manufacturing areas.
The regulation applies to key commodities comparable to cattle (beef and leather-based), cocoa, espresso, palm oil, soy, wooden, and rubber, in addition to merchandise derived from them.
Stakeholders Convene on Traceability
The Nationwide Traceability Steering Committee assembly, held on the Royal Grand Resort in Sinkor, introduced collectively representatives from the Worldwide Fund for Agricultural Growth (IFAD), Worldwide Finance Company (IFC), the LACRA Board, the Home and Senate Committees on Agriculture, the Forestry Growth Authority (FDA), CDA, farmers’ teams, and the United Nations Industrial Growth Group (UNIDO).
Contributors emphasised the significance of linking agricultural merchandise to verified and registered farmers as a key requirement for assembly EUDR compliance.
LACRA Performing Director Warns of Financial Dangers
Addressing the gathering, LACRA Performing Director Common Dan Saryee burdened the pressing want to deal with challenges related to EUDR, describing it as Liberia’s “subsequent nightmare” if not correctly managed.
“As an entity offering regulatory accountability to our farmers and all actors throughout the worth chain, we thought it was crucial to take the lead on this matter,” Saryee mentioned.
He famous that late final yr, stakeholders and technical specialists met to evaluation the vital implications of EUDR, including that the regulation is usually misunderstood.
“Many individuals misunderstand the intent of EUDR. It isn’t only a European requirement; it’s a international requirement,” he defined.
“In my current assembly with the Chinese language Embassy, as we search to position our merchandise on the Chinese language market, EUDR was talked about. This tells us that it isn’t focused at one locality.”
Mr. Saryee additional warned that failure to conform might have devastating penalties for farmers.
“If EUDR just isn’t addressed, we as legislators, authorities officers, and technicians threat a state of affairs the place over 30 p.c of our farmers’ merchandise will develop and die on the farms with out entry to markets,” he cautioned.
The LACRA Performing Director referred to as on each native and worldwide stakeholders to collaborate in addressing EUDR-related challenges. He additionally praised improvement companions and the Authorities of Liberia for funding the nation’s first agricultural traceability platform in Lofa County, geared toward making certain compliance with worldwide commerce legal guidelines.
“EUDR is our subsequent nightmare, and we should confront it collectively as a nation to defend the survival of our farmers and their farms,” Saryee mentioned.
In the meantime, Bobby Mensah, Program Lead on the Worldwide Finance Company (IFC), famous that though Liberia has been granted an extra yr to satisfy EUDR necessities, failure to conform might outcome within the lack of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} yearly in export earnings.
“EUDR just isn’t voluntary; it’s a compliance measure. It’s a should,” Mensah said. “The IFC is happy to assist the Authorities of Liberia in making certain that every one obligatory authorized and regulatory frameworks are put in place.”
