BENGALURU: As part of the EU Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) Project, a Common Stakeholders’ Meeting for Coffee & Rubber Sector was convened at the Indian Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM) on Wednesday. Prof S John Mano Raj, Director I/c, IIPM, appreciated the progress on the project undertaken by IIPM which will show its results shortly on India’s readiness for EUDR compliance.
Dr D R Babu Reddy, Deputy Director (Research) of Coffee Board, mentioned that the board, through its technology partner, has developed a mobile application for capturing geo-tagging and mapping of its plantation areas, which enhances supply chain digitalisation ensuring traceability from producer to consumer through phases like QR labelling, ledger maintenance and transition tracking via block-chain technology. It was unanimously resolved that the certification should be self-proprietary and agency specific. Project Investigators Dr K Venkateswaran and Dr S Sudha, Executive Director of Rubber Board M Vasanthagesan and others were present.