Ecuador

The context

Deforestation

From 2002 to 2022, Ecuador lost 954 kha of tree cover, the equivalent of a 5% decrease in tree cover since 2000, with shifting agriculture being the main deforestation driver.

Local context

The European Union is one of the main export markets for Ecuadorian agricultural, agro-industrial and timber products.

Biodiversity

51.2% of the continental territory of Ecuador is covered by native forests, of which 74% is in the Amazon region.

Agriculture

The agricultural sector in Ecuador consists mainly of smallholder farmers, who now face the risk of being excluded from international markets due to new requirements on proving sustainable and deforestation-free production.

Decoupling Agriculture from Deforestation

The main challenge now is to maintain the access of cocoa, coffee, palm oil and timber value chains to international markets and to take advantage of the opportunities that the EU regulation on deforestation-free products may present.

Approach

To support a transition to sustainable and deforestation-free value chains in Ecuador, it is necessary to provide tools and approaches to prepare the key actors in the value chain – including the public and private sector – and to promote the formalisation of relevant value chains. The SAFE project supports Ecuador in these processes. To this end, SAFE cooperates at national level with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, the Ministry of Environment and Energy, and the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, and Investment. At the same time, work is being carried out with private sector actors, especially export companies and their associations. At local level, actions are concentrated in the provinces of Sucumbíos, Orellana, Napo, in the northern Amazon region of Ecuador, and Guayas in the cost together with local governments and cocoa and coffee producer organisations.

The experience at local, regional and national levels has enabled the development of a toolbox for EUDR adaptation, with a focus on smallholders organisations.

Commodities SAFE is working on in Ecuador

Approach

The experience at local, regional and national levels has enabled the development of a toolbox for EUDR adaptation, with a focus on smallholders organisations.

Commodities SAFE is working on in Ecuador

Activities

Financial and Policy Support

Access to financing for farmers and their organizations are promoted through fostering formalization and the direct development of project funding proposals. This provides incentives for EUDR compliance and a complementary impact in the region for sustainability and legality in production.

Capacity Building and Certification

Farmers are trained in sustainable production practices, with a focus on environmental standards. The project facilitates farmer registration with the Family Farmer Producers (AFC), improving access to certification and compliance with sustainability requirements.
The activity is especially aimed towards inclusion of marginalised population, e.g. women, indigenous communities.

Sustainable Cocoa and Coffee

SAFE Ecuador supports smallholder farmers of the cocoa and coffee production, with a special focus on women and indigenous communities, to enhance production capacities and ensure deforestation-free practices. The project supports local and national roundtables on sustainable production, as well as the national inter-institutional committee on sustainable production and commercialisation (CIPCS – Comité Interinstitucional de Producción y Comercialización Sostenible).

Traceability and Due Diligence

Traceability systems and due diligence processes are implemented across several producer organisations. Through capacity building and risk mitigation analysis, it is ensured that the produced cocoa and coffee meets EUDR requirements.

Through a ToT on Traceability, an autoguided online training and a traceability manual for smallholders, the knowledge and expertise is disseminated on national level.

Strengthening Market Access

In partnerships with national and international buyers, small producers are connected to the European Market. Partnerships have been established with buyers in Europe, including two coffee alliances with Germany and a cocoa alliance with Switzerland. These alliances help farmers access global markets while complying with deforestation-free criteria, boosting trade opportunities for coffee and cocoa organizations.

SAFE Ecuador - Video playlist

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Due Diligence Simulation in UNOCACE

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Publications

Practical Due Diligence Guide for Smallholder Cocoa Producer Organisations in Ecuador

This practical Due Diligence Guide developed for Smallholder Cocoa Producer Organisations in Ecuador provides support for alignment with the European Union’s Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR).

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EUDR Risk Assessment in Ecuador’s Cocoa Supply Chain

The project “Evaluación Nacional de Riesgo EUDR y fortalecimiento de capacidades locales para la implementación de Sistemas de Debida Diligencia en cadenas de cacao” supports small producer associations by seeking…

Cocoa with Purpose: Building Systems of Due Diligence for smallholder cocoa farmers

The publication gives an overview of the approach taken and results found by Preferred by Nature, who together with the project Sustainable Agriculture for Forest Ecosystems – SAFE Ecuador, of…

Discussion Paper on the linkages between EUDR and Land Rights

This discussion paper on EUDR and Land Rights aims to subsidize the understanding of the relationship between land rights and EUDR compliance, with emphasis how the EUDR presents opportunities in…