Business 22 April 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Coffee Giants Roll Out Satellite Tech to Combat Deforestation in Uganda and East Africa
Major coffee companies have unveiled the Coffee Canopy Partnership, using satellite imagery and AI to monitor deforestation linked to coffee farming, starting with East African nations including Uganda. The initiative aims for global coverage by 2027 to comply with upcoming EU regulations and support smallholder farmers. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/coffee-companies-launch-satellite-based-program-to-track-deforestation-5433272
A coalition of leading coffee companies and traders has introduced the Coffee Canopy Partnership, a cutting-edge system leveraging Airbus satellite imagery and AI to detect deforestation around coffee farms worldwide.
JDE Peet’s, now under Keurig Dr Pepper, is spearheading the effort alongside Tchibo, Louis Dreyfus Company, Sucden, Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, Touton, and Sucafina. The program kicks off in East Africa, targeting Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda, with plans to expand to all coffee regions by 2027.
The initiative addresses challenges posed by the EU Deforestation Regulation, set to impact large firms from December 30 and smaller ones by June 2027. It prevents coffee from post-2020 deforested forest land from entering EU markets.
“This threatens to exclude millions of smallholder farmers from key markets, despite their sustainable farming practices, simply because existing maps incorrectly classify their agroforestry or shade-grown coffee production land as forest,” JDE Peet’s stated.
By providing accurate mapping, the partnership seeks to aid governments and communities in forest restoration and prevention efforts. The system will be open for input from farmers, governments, and the industry.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)