TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR EUDR STUDY

Project “Promoting forest governance and legal timber trade through

Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)- VM 066" and the project "Suitainable Forest management - VM080"

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Study project’s name: Assessing the degree of compliance with due diligence requirements of EUDR among small-scale coffee producers in the Central Highlands of Vietnam

1. Background

The European Commission introduced the Regulation on Deforestation-free products (EUDR) on 6 December, 2022, which became effective on June 29, 2023. This regulation mandates that only products not contributing to deforestation or forest degradation are permitted to import and export into the EU. The EUDR aims to ensure that the seven main goods^[1] entering the EU market do not cause deforestation and forest degradation. This regulation significantly helps in preventing global deforestation and forest degradation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve biodiversity. With the EUDR in effect, all companies involved are required to conduct strict due diligence for importing their products into the EU market or exporting from it.

EUDR requires businesses and producers (farmers) to demonstrate that their products are not linked to deforestation (produced on non-forest land after December 31, 2020) and are legal (adhere to all relevant applicable laws in force in the producing country). This regulation aims not only help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect biodiversity, but also contribute to ensuring the livelihoods of millions of people, including local people and communities around the world, who heavily depend on the forest ecosystem. This poses a significant challenge for exporting Vietnamese agricultural products to the EU market. Coffee products, representing 16.1% of the EU market share and 40% of Vietnam's total coffee exports, are particularly affected.

Vietnam is known as one of the world's leading countries in terms of coffee size and productivity. Coffee area and output have tended to increase continuously in recent years. In 2022, the country's coffee growing area is nearly 700 thousand hectares, with total output reaching more than two million tons. Vietnam's coffee productivity reaches an average of 2.6 tons/ha of beans for Robusta coffee and 1.4 tons of beans/ha for Arabica coffee.

In Vietnam, coffee is planted across 5 main production regions, including the Central Highlands, Southeast, South Central, North Central and Northern provinces. Central Highlands region (including 5 provinces: Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong) is the largest coffee-producing region of the country. The Central Highlands has a total coffee area of about 639,000 hectares (representing 92 % of the whole country), productivity of 28.5 tons/ha (1.1 times higher than the whole country), output of about 2 million tons (accounting for 95 % of the whole country).

Robusta coffee, the most produced coffee in the Central Highlands of Vietnam with a large amount of caffeine, is the most exported to the EU. This type of coffee is mixed with other coffee to create famous coffee brands around the world. In particular, the EU market is still the main market for Vietnamese coffee. The requirements for food quality, hygiene, and safety are becoming more stringent along with the new EUDR regulations, leading to considerable challenges for Robusta coffee production and processing in the Central Highlands. Therefore, assessing the EUDR's readiness to implement due diligence will have an important significance in developing coffee sustainably in the Central Highlands in particular and Vietnam in general.

Funded by the project "Promoting Forest Governance and Sustainable Timber Trade through the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)" and the Program "Forest Governance, Markets and Climate (FGMC)", the Center for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) will recruit a group of experts to conduct the research "Assessing the readiness of Robusta coffee producers to implement EUDR due diligence ".

2. Target

Goal

Assess the capacity of Robusta coffee producers in the Central Highlands to comply with EU regulations regarding products that do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation, and propose supportive solutions to enhance their capacity and ensure the compliance by coffee-growing households.

Objectives

Assess coffee farmers' readiness in the Central Highlands for implementing EUDR due diligence requirements.

Identify factors influencing coffee farmers' readiness to comply with the EUDR due diligence process.

Recommend necessary support measures, training, and development initiatives to enhance the compliance of producers with EUDR requirements.

3. Work content

+ Develop an overall research outline, and a detail research implementation plan;

+ Collect information from Vietnamese and EU legal documents concerning EUDR;

+ Review the indicators and requirements of the EUDR due diligence implementation regulations;

+ Finalize the set of indicators developed by SRD, tailored to the specific context of Robusta coffee in the Central Highlands;

+ Develop sampling methods for research;

+ Conduct investigations and surveys to assess the readiness of relevant stakeholders for the EUDR compliance process;

+ Analyze and process data collected from investigations and surveys;

+ Prepare comprehensive reports;

+ Develop proposals for supporting solutions;

+ Present research results to relevant parties;

+ Develop policy newsletters.

4. Methods

+ Desk-review methods

- Review and compile legal documents and reports pertaining to EUDR from Vietnam and the EU;

- Analyze and select information to ensure that the included information fully and accurately reflects the local situation.

+ Expert methods

- Review the indicators in the system of due diligence indicators developed by SRD in 2023;

- Evaluate the feasibility of providing and collecting information and indicators in the study area and research subjects;

- Engage with experts for insights on the collated results and reports.

+ External methods

- Select research locations, ensuring representativeness for the entire Central Highlands region;

- Based on the indicators required to implement the due diligence of EUDR to produce research tools;

- Upload and integrate questionnaire into Google from or Kobo Toolbox.

+ Data processing methods

- Data processing and data analysis using Microsoft Office software: Excel; Office add-ins for Excel; SPSS; SQL; R software; NVIVO12;

- Build reports.

5. Scope of work

- Location: The study will be conducted in Dak Lak province, a leading Robusta coffee-producing province in the Central Highlands region.

- Target audience: Robusta coffee producers, with a focus on the diversity of ethnic groups in the region. This includes identifying and selecting households of diverse ethnicities to reflect cultural diversity and farming practices.

6. Expected output

1/ A comprehensive database as a basis for future monitoring;

2/ A detailed report on research findings;

3/ Policy bulletin (Proposing solutions and policies to support coffee producing households to fully comply with the requirements of the EUDR).

7. Budget and human resource estimates

7.1.         Cost:

7.2.         Human

01: Research leader: 01 doctorate in sociology, economics, forestry, or agriculture with at least 10 years of experience working in the agricultural industry. The research leader is responsible for overseeing the entire project, including research direction, supervision, report writing, and ensuring the quality of the research process.

01: Vice head: A PhD or master's degree in agriculture, forestry, economics, sociology with at least 5 years of experience in research. The role of the vice head is to support the research leader in managing and implementing research activities, and being in charge of specific parts of the report.

05: Expert in the fields of data processing, data analysis, investigation and information collection: Each having at least 7 years of experience in research, investigation, collection, analysis, and information processing. These experts are responsible for collaborating with the leader and vice head to analyze and process collected data according to the requirements set forth in the research, ensuring accuracy and precision of data.

8. Implementation plan

9. Proposal submission deadline

- The proposal documents need to be submitted in person before 5:00 p.m. on December 30, 2023.

- Recipient location: Center for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), No. 31 Alley 19, Kim Dong Street, Giap Bat Ward - Hoang Mai – Hanoi.

- Submitted documents should includes application form and CV of candidate.

10. Contact person

Project manager: Mr. Nguyen Phu Hung, Tel.: +84 912094190; Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.