Coffee traceability and EUDR compliance for smallholder supply chains
From cherry deliveries at the washing station to an exported lot: plot-level coffee traceability and EUDR due diligence.
Farmer1st gives coffee buyers a first-mile data backbone: verified farmers and plots, audit-ready polygons, deforestation assessment up to today and TRACES-ready EUDR due diligence, with the link from cherry deliveries at washing stations to exported lots. It plugs into your existing tools, and specific needs are prototyped with you in the Nursery.
What makes this first mile hard
Cherries aggregated at washing stations
Farmers deliver cherries in small, frequent loads to washing stations and collection points. Each delivery must stay linked to verified plots once lots are blended.
Steep terrain, altitude and shade
Coffee grows on hillsides and under shade trees, often in areas with poor connectivity. Mapping has to work offline and cope with canopy and slopes.
Price volatility
When prices swing, farmers switch buyers and volumes move between channels. Declared origins must stay consistent with what each plot can produce.
Many producers per exported lot
A single container can hold coffee from hundreds of farmers. Due diligence must cover every plot behind it, not a sample.
Quality and premium programmes
Specialty and certified coffee rely on origin claims and premiums reaching the right farmers, which needs a clean record per farmer and per delivery.
Modules for this supply chain
EUDR compliance
From plot polygons to a submitted DDS: EUDR due diligence built on verified first-mile data, sent directly to EU TRACES.
Explore the module →Geo & polygons
Polygons captured in the field, validated, and assessed for deforestation up to today. Your calculation method, not ours imposed.
Explore the module →Field agent management
Missions, routes, offline collection and supervision for the teams who gather first-mile data, with quality checked as it comes in.
Explore the module →Traceability & certification
From plot to lot: first-mile chain of custody, mass balance and audit-ready certification records, with origin attested by farmers.
Explore the module →Trees & agroforestry
Every tree registered, measured and followed over time, so agroforestry programmes can show what was planted and what survived.
Explore the module →AI agronomist
Practical agronomic answers in local languages, from a shared knowledge base, for farmers and the teams who support them.
Explore the module →Farmer app & engagement
Offline, in local languages, with voice: a direct channel to farmers, where they control their data and receive payments.
Explore the module →Coffee is grown by smallholders on hillsides, delivered in small loads and blended fast. Farmer1st is the first-mile infrastructure built around farmers: a farmer-controlled network where companies, governments and organisations collect, verify and share origin data, and build the services they need on top of it. For coffee, it keeps each delivery linked to verified plots all the way to the exported lot.
What does the EUDR require from coffee buyers?
Coffee is a relevant commodity under Regulation (EU) 2023/1115. Coffee placed on the EU market must be deforestation-free, legally produced and covered by a due diligence statement submitted through EU TRACES. That requires the geolocation of every plot behind a lot, a risk assessment and, where needed, risk mitigation. The EUDR guide sets out the details with official sources.
How do you map coffee plots on steep, shaded terrain?
Field agents map plots offline-first, walking the boundary or drawing it on imagery, with AI added to support them and the reviewers. Polygons already collected by cooperatives or earlier programmes are imported and checked instead of redrawn. Each polygon is validated for geometry, overlaps and plausibility, then assessed for deforestation up to today, with a method that follows your risk policy. See Geo & polygons.
How do you keep cherries linked to plots at the washing station?
At the station, each delivery is recorded against a known farmer. The link survives blending: every lot carries the list of contributing farmers and plots, and the volumes stay plausible against plot size and expected yield. This is first-mile traceability that holds up in an audit, and it feeds traceability & certification for chain-of-custody and premium claims.
How do you run campaigns across many small producers?
Field agent management organises visits, missions and data quality: which farmers are still unmapped, which records failed checks, which station needs support. Farmers can confirm their own data and receive messages through the farmer app, in local languages and with voice.
Can the same data help farmers improve their coffee?
Yes. Once plots and practices are recorded, the AI agronomist answers farmers’ questions on shade management, pests, pruning and post-harvest quality, drawing on a shared agronomic knowledge base. Tree records from Trees & agroforestry support shade programmes and diversification.
What if our coffee programme needs something we don’t see here?
Specialty traceability, a premium payment trail, a specific station workflow: we assemble the existing modules and build the missing piece with you in the Nursery. You use it, we adjust, and it runs on the same network.
Frequently asked questions
Is coffee covered by the EUDR?
Yes. Coffee is one of the relevant commodities under Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, including roasted and decaffeinated coffee and some derived products. Operators must show it is deforestation-free, legally produced and covered by a due diligence statement. See our EUDR guide.
How do you trace coffee through washing stations?
Each cherry delivery is recorded against a verified farmer and their plots at the station. When lots are blended, the list of contributing plots travels with the lot, so the due diligence statement covers every plot behind it.
Can shade-grown coffee pass a deforestation assessment?
Yes. Tree and agroforestry records sit next to each plot polygon, so shade systems are taken into account and only real changes in land use are flagged for review.
Do our cooperatives need to change their current tools?
No. Farmer1st connects to the field tools, ERPs and compliance platforms already in use, and adds the verified first-mile layer underneath.
Tell us about your supply chain.
Ten minutes with our scoping assistant. We come back with a first sketch of your service.
