Agrolinking launches AgTrail to help Nigerian farmers meet EU deforestation regulation compliance
Agrolinking introduces AgTrail to support Nigerian cocoa farmers and exporters in meeting stringent EU deforestation compliance rules.
NIGERIA – Agrolinking, an agribusiness technology firm focused on strengthening transparency, trust and trade across global agricultural value chains, has launched AgTrail, a digital food traceability platform designed to help Nigerian farmers and exporters comply with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
The launch comes amid growing concern about Nigeria’s exposure to the regulation, which places strict requirements on agricultural exports entering the European Union.
The EUDR, formally Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, prohibits agricultural and forest-related products linked to deforestation or forest degradation from accessing the EU market.
It requires proof that commodities were not produced on land deforested after December 31, 2020, were legally produced, and can be traced to verified farm locations using geolocation data.
Speaking on the significance of the regulation, Agrolinking’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Joseph Fashola, said Nigeria’s agricultural trade with the EU has expanded rapidly in recent years.
“Nigeria’s agri-food exports to the European Union have grown from about €477m (US$520m) in 2020 to around €1.68b (US$1.83b) in 2024,” Fashola said.
He noted that cocoa remains Nigeria’s dominant agricultural export to the EU and represents the country’s largest source of exposure to compliance risks under the EUDR.
“Because cocoa is explicitly listed under the EUDR, any failure in farm mapping, traceability, or deforestation-risk assessment could directly threaten the bulk of Nigeria’s agricultural export earnings from the EU,” he said.
Fashola explained that the regulation poses a significant challenge for Nigerian farmers, as agricultural production is largely driven by smallholders operating on family or communal land, often without formal land titles, digital records, or GPS-mapped farm boundaries.
“This creates a structural exclusion risk, as farms that are not GPS-mapped, or whose produce cannot be traced to a specific plot, become commercially unattractive,” he said. “Exporters are likely to avoid non-traceable sources to reduce the risk of shipment rejection, penalties and regulatory sanctions.”
According to Fashola, AgTrail was developed to close these gaps by enabling GPS-based farm boundary mapping, digital farmer records, digital product passports and end-to-end traceability from farm to fork.
“The platform supports the generation of due-diligence documentation that exporters can use to meet EU compliance requirements,” he said.
He added that effective compliance will require collaboration among farmers, cooperatives, exporters, technology providers and government agencies, noting that sustained investment in traceability infrastructure is critical to maintaining EU market access.
The EUDR, initially scheduled to take effect at the end of 2024, has faced multiple postponements due to implementation challenges and technical delays within the EU’s TRACES NT digital system.
Recently, the European Parliament voted to extend implementation to 30 December 2026 for large operators, while micro and small enterprises will be required to comply from 30 June 2027.
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