Kenya has intensified efforts to map all coffee-growing areas nationwide as part of its strategy to comply with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), set to take full effect on December 30, 2025.
The EUDR mandates that all coffee and other key agricultural products entering the EU must be traceable to land that has not been deforested since December 31, 2020. Exporters are required to demonstrate that their supply chains are free from links to deforestation.
In response, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, through the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), has launched a countrywide geospatial mapping exercise targeting all coffee farms. The mapping is aimed at meeting the EU’s strict traceability requirements ahead of the deadline.
To date, 32,688 hectares of coffee farms have been mapped, covering 30% of the total 109,384 hectares under coffee cultivation. The progress spans 16 out of Kenya’s 33 coffee-producing counties.
The initiative is being coordinated by the EUDR Data Committee, which includes representatives from the State Department for Agriculture, State Department for Cooperatives, Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Space Agency, Directorate of Survey and Remote Sensing, and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO).
“Our target is to complete the remaining mapping within the next two months to ensure full compliance with the EU requirements,” said AFA Director General Dr. Bruno Linyiru in a statement issued Monday.
Coffee remains one of Kenya’s top foreign exchange earners, with 95% of the produce exported abroad. The European Union is the largest market, accounting for 55% of Kenyan coffee exports. Key destinations include Belgium, Germany, Sweden, and Finland.
In the past five years, Kenya exported 122,699 metric tonnes of clean coffee to the EU, generating USD 695.7 million (about KES 90 billion) in revenue.
Smallholder farmers, who contribute nearly 70% of the country’s coffee output, are particularly vulnerable to the implications of the EUDR. Without compliance, Kenya risks losing access to one of its most valuable agricultural export markets.
AFA is urging all stakeholders and members of the public with questions on the mapping initiative or the new EU regulations to contact the Authority for guidance.
