Where exactly does the coffee we drink come from? How can we be sure that it does not grow on deforested land? To answer these questions, major international manufacturers and traders are launching global mapping of coffee plots to help producing countries meet new European standards. Indeed, producing countries must prove that the coffee does not come from deforestation zones and implement strict traceability of coffee beans.
Thanks to very high resolution satellite images, it is now possible to identify each coffee tree growing between the trees, plot by plot. Seven of the world’s largest groups café have partnered with Airbus to map all the world’s plantations and ensure they do not lead to deforestation.
Project player, Laurent Sagarra, “Engagement” director of the coffee multinational JDE Peet’s, details how the tool works: “Airbus has developed a tool forartificial intelligence which analyzes billions of satellite photos. This tool is trained on the basis of all the data that all the industry players who are part of the project have collected. And so, we train, we educate a tool to analyze these billions of photos to be able to ”mapper” all the coffee plots on the planet. We are thus able to do work that would take us years and years if we had to do it by hand. »
The stakes are high, especially in East Africa where coffee farms are very fragmented. Just in Éthiopiemore than five million farmers own on average half a hectare of land. Identifying all the plots is therefore a real challenge so as not to make any mistakes. “If we don’t have the best data, we risk excluding one plot, excluding ten plots, excluding 1 000 plots… This excludes farmers. This means to these farmers: “You can no longer sell on the European market.” For them, in terms of impact on their lives, it’s huge », souligne Laurent Sagarra.Â
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Millions of small farms to identify
The mapping, called “Canopy Project”, will be updated every one or two years, and made available free of charge on an open and transparent geospatial platform, accessible to producers and governments, starting now for East Africa. An initiative well received by players in the sector in Ethiopia, such as Abdi Itana, sustainable development advisor in the coffee sector: “Today we use the Global Forest Watch global map, but it does not show the dynamic change at the individual farm level. We do not clearly differentiate between exploitation and forestry. »
According to him, this data will complete the digital traceability system set up by Africa’s leading coffee producing country: “Everything will be recorded, and a digital identifier will be assigned to the farmer, including the area and perimeter of his plot. So, when farmers sell their produce to a collector or buyer, the quantity will be recorded on their ID card, and we will know who is buying what and how much. Ultimately, every coffee movement in Ethiopia will be recorded in this system. »
Essential tools less than a year before the entry into force of the new European rules on deforestation, scheduled for December 2026 for large producers and June 2027 for smaller ones.
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