The agricultural technology data service provider Varda announced its partnership with TrueFootprint, a value chain transformation platform that helps companies enhance their overall sustainability. Together, they intend to help millions of smallholder farmers by providing a digital solution to meet the requirements of the upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Varda, founded by the global leader in nitrogen fertiliser production, Yara, has developed a geospatial reference system known as Global FieldID. The system is designed for the entire agricultural industry. Both Global FieldID and TrueFootprint's platform, FieldApp, will work harmoniously to help smallholder farmers easily track processes and showcase evidence of crop production while respecting forest areas. The overall goal is to comply with the forthcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), due to be implemented by the end of this year.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) prevents EU companies from procuring from producers who have participated or potentially may participate in deforestation. Hence, operators and traders are obligated to gather crucial information, such as the geographic coordinates of the land where their commodities are produced. They must also ensure full traceability of their products down to the farm level. These requirements pose a substantial challenge, notably for smallholder farmers.
TrueFootprint aspires to make its FieldApp platform easily accessible, especially for farmers without digital tools. Their goal is to offer key insights into their farmland, permitting them to identify, report, and find solutions to agricultural issues.
According to the CEO of TrueFootprint, Fredrik Galtung, "The integration of Varda’s Global FieldID into our FieldApp platform aids users to save time and resources when mapping out their fields. It facilitates collaborative data sharing with key stakeholders and provides proof of EUDR compliance. The solution provided by Varda allows farmers to assign unique IDs to each land plot, in an effort to decentralise data fragmentation. By assigning a digital ‘QR code for fields’, farmers can map out fields universally."
Galtung further stated, "The time has come for Global FieldID. It will help us onboard many more farmers faster and streamline the process for food companies, traders, and regulators to check for deforestation regulation compliance."
Davide Ceper, CEO at Varda, commented, "Large producers are well prepared and organised to supply the necessary information to validate their practices. However, smallholder farmers in some countries lack the technological 'know-how' to do the same. This could lead to some farmers being forced out of business, which would further impact deforestation levels in these areas due to a lack of alternatives. This collaboration aims to equip farmers with essential digital tools to map out their farmland, identify problems and share data with key stakeholders seamlessly, ensuring users comply with the upcoming regulations."