Across Latin America, agricultural supply chains face similar pressures, but each country responds differently. For Jorge Carrillo, coordinator of the TEI Hub Latin America, this diversity is not a problem. It is the starting point for solutions.
Different countries have their own way to solve problems. In that diversity, you can find new solutions for your own challenges.
The TEI Hub Latin America links programs financed by the European Union and its member states, as part of the Global Gateway Initiative and a coherent cooperation policy to support partner countries in preparing for EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) compliance. ‘We look for synergies and gather information from different countries and projects, so national counterparts can benefit from what others are already doing’, Jorge Carrillo said.
A regional space to learn fast and make pilots stick
The hub makes different approaches visible across borders, so governments and value chain actors do not have to start from zero when facing challenges. Brazil has a traceability platform led by public authorities. In Argentina, a national platform is driven by the private sector. Central American countries are trying other models.
You do not copy one model entirely. But you can take parts that work for your own complex problems.
Across the region, many projects have piloted new tools, platforms and collaboration formats. The real test is what happens after the projects end. Here, the hub focuses on institutionalisation – not just showcasing pilots, but helping countries integrate them into national strategies, regulations and budgets.
The key question is how to hand over good examples and pilots to national counterparts, we need the changes to be sustainable, so authorities and partners really take ownership of the improvements and innovations.
Partners across the value chains, from ministries to smallholders
The TEI Hub Latin America works with the institutions and actors that are implementing change along the value chains.
- National and subnational governments: ministries or secretariats of agriculture at federal and state level
- Producer and sector organisations: coffee, cocoa, soy and other commodity organisations
- Private sector: from large companies to cooperatives and associations
- Smallholders and their representatives: who often face the highest compliance burden with the least resources
Our key partners include the public institutions that provide enabling conditions for value chains, as well as the producer organisations and companies working in them – ranging from big players to smallholders represented by their cooperatives.
Digital cooperation and data sharing
One area where the hub already sees concrete results is interoperability and data sharing. Through regional dialogues, countries compare how they generate and manage data for traceability and due diligence. They look at what information is needed, how it can move between public and private systems, and how it can serve both national policies and international market requirements.
Regulations and digital platforms only work when they reflect real conditions on farms and in cooperatives, and when public and private actors are able and willing to share and use data.
Trust is not a side issue here. it is the basic infrastructure for cooperation on sensitive data. Jorge Carrillo said: ‘Behind all the organisations there are people. If people know and trust each other, it becomes much easier to exchange information and learn.’
EUDR as an opportunity
Looking ahead, Jorge sees the EUDR as both a tough pressure point and a strategic opportunity for the region. Producers, companies and authorities need financially viable ways to comply. At the same time, structural challenges persist in numerous countries, these issues are now prioritized with enhanced visibility and a specific roadmap for medium-term resolution.
We found out that there is a lot of informality in land tenure. but that does not mean it is illegal. The challenge is to show third countries that we comply with the law, and to close those gaps that are not easy, but necessary, to solve for reasons beyond the EUDR.
The hub wants to make sure the EUDR is not treated as a sole box-ticking exercise. Instead, it should facilitate overdue reforms: better land information systems, clearer recognition of legitimate tenure, smarter traceability solutions, and targeted technical and financial support for smallholders.
What comes next
The priorities of the TEI Hub Latin America are straightforward.
- Anchor successful pilots in national institutions, laws and budgets
- Strengthen interoperable, country owned data systems that work for both public and private actors
- Use EUDR as a lever to address structural issues such as land tenure and informality, rather than as a technical checklist
- Keep investing in relationships between ministries, producer organisations and companies across borders to scale solutions.
Latin America does not lack ideas or innovation. The TEI Hubs task now is to connect them, institutionalize them, and turn external regulations into a long-term advantage for the region.
Field Visit at Sara und Robson Brogni in Altamira. © Jil Schütze / GIZ
