InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – The European Parliament has officially postponed the implementation of the European Union Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) for one year. In a plenary session on November 14, 2024, it was decided that the compliance deadline for large companies has been extended until December 30, 2025, while micro and small enterprises have until June 30, 2026. This delay is intended to provide additional time for global business actors to comply with the regulation without compromising the main objectives of the EUDR.
This postponement gives producing countries, including Indonesia, 2.5 years to adjust to the EUDR. However, the Indonesian government's efforts so far have only been limited to the establishment of a National Dashboard based on the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Decree No. 178 of 2024 concerning the National Dashboard Steering Committee for Sustainable Commodity Data and Information.
The government claims that the National Dashboard can improve governance and tracking systems for sustainable commodities. However, critics argue that this system does not meet the strict standards set by the European Union. Civil society groups even suspect that the National Dashboard is merely a tool to conceal unsustainable palm oil supply chains domestically.
The National Palm Oil Farmers Union (SPKS), represented by Mansuetus Darto, criticized the government's approach and urged that the focus should be directed towards strengthening tracking systems, bureaucratic capacity, and business actors, especially small farmers. "The EUDR does not require producing countries to build information systems to facilitate commodity exports. The European Union has prepared its own system for implementing the EUDR in producing countries," Darto stated in his official remarks to InfoSAWIT on Tuesday (December 18, 2024).
Darto also highlighted the lack of transparency in the National Dashboard. He emphasized that the public and civil organizations cannot access important data related to corporate compliance because QR code access is limited to certain authorized parties.
Executive Director of Sawit Watch, Achmad Surambo, expressed concerns about potential overlaps with existing systems in various ministries, such as SIPERIBUN (Plantation Information System) and platforms owned by the Ministry of Trade and Customs. He urged the government to integrate these platforms into a single spatial database, such as the Plantation Commodity One Map Indonesia (PCOPI).
Surambo also suggested that the government prioritize empowering smallholder palm oil farmers by improving data and legality through mapping, registration, and issuing Cultivation Registration Certificates (STDB). Furthermore, strengthening farmer institutions, such as cooperatives, to enhance farmers' bargaining positions, improving commodity trading systems by encouraging partnerships between smallholder farmers and processing mills that meet principles of equity, price guarantees, supply, and sustainability, and developing mini-processing mills owned and managed by cooperatives or village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) to support the independence of smallholder farmers.
The EUDR postponement provides Indonesia with a significant opportunity to address these various challenges. However, without significant improvements in governance and support for small farmers, the National Dashboard risks becoming an ineffective tool in meeting the objectives of the regulation. (T2)
