UN agency launching platform to help small farmers meet EU deforestation rules

HAMBURG (Reuters) - A United Nations trade agency is launching an online platform this month to help small farmers in developing countries maintain access to Europe once new deforestation rules kick in.

The rules, which will bar exports of commodities to Europe linked to deforestation, have already seen a reduction in orders to some small farmers in the developing world.

The European Commission last week proposed delaying the rules for a year, phasing in from 2025 to 2026.

Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, told Reuters that the platform was part of a broader effort by her organisation to "work out a system that will cause the least damage possible".

"This delay at least has given enough time to try to put in place the mechanisms to help (small and medium enterprises) and the countries put themselves in a position to meet these requirements," she said on the sidelines of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference.

The ITC, a joint venture of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, advises small businesses in emerging markets on exporting.

Environmental groups say the rules will help fight climate change, but developing countries and organisations representing coffee, cocoa and palm oil farmers say it could exclude millions of poor, small-scale farmers who cannot comply with the burden of proof.

The platform, the Deforestation-Free Trade Gateway, aims to reduce repetitive and costly data collection and sharing and create a virtual meeting place where farmers, exporters and importers can confirm compliance.

A pilot will launch this month in Latin America before expanding globally in November.

Ultimately, she said countries and industry groups must amalgamate the geolocation, mapping and other standards of proof needed, something she said Malaysia, Brazil and Ghana were already working to do.

She said ITC was working with the EU on other "accompanying measures" to help thousands of farmers with plots as small as two hectares.

"It's trying to figure out how do we ensure that they survive, but at the same time meet the regulatory environment," she said.

(Reporting By Libby George; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)