How EU do-goodery risks harming Africa’s small farmers

With the stroke of a pen, the EU is rewriting trading practices the world over. It wants firms bringing cocoa, coffee, rubber, soya, palm oil, wood or cattle products into Europe to prove that those commodities did not come from land which was deforested after 2020. An importer breaking the rules can be fined up to 4% of its turnover in the EU. Millions of small farms will need to be geo-located and supply chains redesigned. It is a race against time before the rule kicks in at the end of this year.