What Are Low-Code Platforms?
Low-code development platforms provide visual tools and pre-built components that allow developers and business users to create applications rapidly.
Advantages of Low-Code Development
- Faster application delivery
- Reduced development costs
- Greater business agility
- Improved collaboration between teams
As the demand for digital solutions grows, low-code platforms are expected to play a significant role in the future of software development.
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) came into force in June 2023, and with its December 2024 compliance deadline for large operators now behind us, the agriculture industry is rapidly confronting an uncomfortable truth: most agribusinesses cannot demonstrate with confidence that their cocoa — or indeed any forest-risk commodity — was grown on land free from deforestation. Traceability, long discussed but rarely delivered, is now a legal requirement. And the first mile remains the hardest problem to solve.
This article examines how forward-thinking agribusinesses are tackling first-mile traceability for cocoa — a challenge that shares remarkable parallels with sustainable cotton supply chain verification. The lessons are directly applicable to cotton brands and retailers navigating their own traceability obligations under emerging frameworks.
What Is EUDR and Why Does the First Mile Matter?
The EU Deforestation Regulation requires companies placing specific commodities — including cocoa, coffee, cattle, palm oil, soy, timber, and rubber — on the EU market to demonstrate that their products were not produced on land deforested after December 31, 2020. The regulation demands:
Geo-location data for the precise plot of land where a commodity was produced
Evidence that production complies with relevant country-of-origin laws
A risk assessment and mitigation framework for each operator's supply chain
Due diligence statements available for regulatory inspection
The "first mile" — the journey from farmer's field to first aggregation point (cooperative, buying station, mill) — is where traceability typically breaks down. This is precisely where data collection is hardest: smallholder farmers may have no formal land titles, mobile connectivity is poor, and literacy levels may limit digital self-reporting.
The Scale of the Problem
Over 70% of the world's cocoa is produced by an estimated 5–6 million smallholder farmers, most in West Africa. Only a fraction of these farmers have formal land title documentation — making geo-location evidence collection not just a technology challenge, but a land governance challenge too.
Three Approaches to First-Mile Traceability
Agribusinesses are deploying three broadly distinct approaches to close the first-mile gap. Each has different cost profiles, data quality levels, and scalability characteristics.
1. Mobile Data Collection by Field Agents
The most common approach currently is training and deploying field agents — either company staff or cooperative extension workers — with mobile devices running structured data collection apps. Field agents visit farms, collect geo-tagged plot boundaries using GPS, photograph boundary markers, and capture farmer identity data.
Companies including Barry Callebaut and Olam have deployed versions of this model across their West African supply chains. Key advantages include human verification of data quality and the ability to navigate complex local contexts. Disadvantages include high cost per farm (typically $8–25 per verified farm-season) and difficulty achieving annual re-verification at scale.
2. Satellite-Based Remote Verification
Satellite imagery analysis is rapidly maturing as a complementary or standalone traceability tool. High-resolution commercial satellites — including Planet Labs' SkySat constellation and Maxar's WorldView series — can now capture sub-metre imagery suitable for farm plot delineation and deforestation monitoring.
AI-powered plot boundary detection algorithms can process satellite imagery to automatically identify and map smallholder farm boundaries at a fraction of the cost of physical field visits. Companies like Satelligence and Satellie have built specialised platforms for EUDR-grade satellite traceability.
