🌍 Excited to share highlights from my participation in the “Enhancing Forest Monitoring and Collaboration: A South-South Knowledge Exchange” three weeks ago at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. I joined a workshop on Forest Monitoring for Transparent Commodity Value Chains, where global stakeholders presented and discussed best practices for 🛰️ geospatial data readiness, ✅ regulatory compliance, and 🌱 empowering smallholders—especially as regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation (#EUDR) gain traction.
Key Insights
Without proper safeguards, farmers often feel exploited, undermining trust and sustainability goals. 🤝
Many smallholders lack the training, technology, and guidance needed to meet emerging sustainability standards. Without these resources, they risk missing out on premium markets and long-term opportunities. 📚📡
Limited outreach and infrastructure often leave smallholders in remote areas disconnected from sustainability dialogues and support, slowing progress toward deforestation-free supply chains. 📶🌱
At beetle fortech, we believe smallholders must be at the center of sustainable solutions. While the digitization of producing-country supply chains is crucial for meeting regulatory frameworks, the ultimate goal goes far beyond compliance. It’s about creating systems that ensure farmers receive a fair share for their produce, enabling them to earn a decent, sustainable income. Empowering smallholders isn’t just about protecting forests; it’s about creating equity, opportunity, and long-term resilience in the value chain.
We achieve this by:
✅ Providing affordable, precise land-plotting technology for first-mile traceability. 🗺️
✅ Running capacity-building programs to help farmers navigate compliance and traceability. 🔧
✅ Advocating for farmer data ownership, ensuring farmers benefit from the systems they support. 💪
💼 What’s Next?
In February 2025, we’ll visit Uganda, Tanzania, and Côte d’Ivoire to scale our solutions, engage local cooperatives, and strengthen partnerships. 📩 If you’re working in these regions or on similar initiatives, let’s connect and collaborate to drive meaningful, sustainable change. 🤝🌿
Sebastian Vogler, Anh Nguyen, Caroline Kunesch, Thomas Blaschke, Anton Eitzinger, Andreas Siebert, Dr. Eberhard Witthoff, Gunter Zeug, Manuela Hirschmugl
Global Forest Observations Initiative, VEO Partners, #AIM4Forests, FFG Austrian Research Promotion Agency, Impact Hub Kigali, BOKU:BASE & Technology Transfer, JOANNEUM RESEARCH, Science Park Graz (SPG)
