Achieving Cocoa Supply Chain Traceability and EUDR Compliance in Africa
Africa produces over 70% of the world’s cocoa, driven by millions of smallholder farmers. As global sustainability standards tighten, producers face rising pressure to comply with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and prove ethical, legal sourcing.
A leading sustainability partner working with cocoa farmers teamed up with TraceX to build an EUDR-compliant, fully traceable cocoa supply chain. Using blockchain, geospatial intelligence, and AI analytics, TraceX enables end-to-end visibility, forest protection, and fair livelihoods across Africa’s cocoa ecosystem
A leading certification and sustainability solutions provider in Africa is on a mission to drive agricultural transformation and empower rural communities. Partnering with a sustainable cocoa off-taker managing over 2,000 smallholder farmers across 2,000 hectares, the organization champions ethical sourcing and sustainable production practices
Industry
Agri Trading Company
Region
Nigeria
Use Case
Supply Chain Compliance for EUDR
Features Used
Farmer Onboarding, Registration & Verification
Geo-Mapping with Deforestation Screening
Harvest Tracking & Batch Traceability
Warehouse & Local Buyer Integration
Dashboard & Reporting
The Problem
Like many players in the global cocoa industry, the company struggled with:
Fragmented and manual record-keeping systems that limited visibility from farm to export.
Difficulty mapping farmer boundaries and identifying overlaps with protected forest areas.
Lack of a unified, digital system to capture, verify, and consolidate compliance data.
Growing pressure to meet the EU’s stringent deforestation-free sourcing criteria before the 2025 enforcement deadline.
The company recognized that maintaining access to EU markets required robust, data-driven traceability that could stand up to regulatory scrutiny — while continuing to uphold its sustainability mission.
Solutions
To close the traceability gap, the company partnered with TraceX, a digital traceability and sustainability intelligence platform designed to automate EUDR compliance.
Key components of the solution included:
End-to-End Digital Traceability: Every cocoa batch is digitally tracked from the farm to the buyer, creating a verifiable chain of custody.
Geolocation & Farm Mapping: Each smallholder’s field is GPS-mapped, allowing for precise monitoring and identification of any overlap with protected forests.
Automated Due Diligence Statements (DDS): The system captures farm, harvest, and supplier data in real-time to generate EUDR-compliant DDS reports automatically.
Blockchain-Backed Proof of Origin: Immutable data records ensure transparency and trust across all stakeholders from farmers to EU buyers.
AI-Powered Risk Monitoring: Continuous data validation identifies deforestation or legality risks early, ensuring proactive compliance management.
This digital infrastructure ensures transparency, accountability, and efficiency at every stage of the cocoa value chain.
Since implementing the TraceX EUDR solution, the company has achieved:
100% visibility into its cocoa sourcing network from farm boundaries to export documentation.
Improved compliance readiness, ensuring that no deforestation-linked cocoa enters the EU supply chain.
Automation of documentation and reporting, reducing manual workload by over 60%.
Strengthened buyer confidence through blockchain-backed proof of origin and ESG data sharing.
Empowerment of smallholder farmers through digital inclusion and verified sustainable sourcing.
The initiative not only simplifies EUDR compliance but also reinforces the company’s commitment to ethical sourcing, traceable trade, and climate-resilient agriculture.
Key Takeaways
Supply chain visibility and improved buyer confidence.
Strengthened sustainability credentials
Empowered local farmers
Secured EU market access with ethical, traceable cocoa.
Start using TraceX
Transparency, Trust and Success for your Climate Journey.
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