At the Paris Agricultural Show, the rubber industry in Côte d’Ivoire came to announce the launch of a rubber labeling process. One way to meet the new requirements set by Europeans in the fight against deforestation.
A distinguished guest at the International Agricultural Show in Paris, Côte d’Ivoire made the show. Beyond the promotion of Ivorian agriculture, those in charge of the rubber sector also came to plead their cause in the face of new European directives in the field of deforestation. A labeling process for Ivorian rubber has just been launched. Edmond Coulibaly is the managing director of the Rubber-Oil Palm Council, the sector’s regulatory body. For him, “itis both to guarantee to the consumer that the Ivorian production is of quality, and also that it is a sustainable production ».
Since last December, the Europeans have required for a certain number of products entering the Union, including rubber, to prove that they do not come from forests degraded or destroyed after December 2020. A provision in the process of being adopted and which according to Edmond Coulibaly does not correspond to the realities of rubber tree cultivation.
« Ivorian production is not at the expense of the forest “, he assures. “ And even so, for us, a rubber plantation is actually a forest. If you take a pine forest here [en France, NDLR], you will realize that if you replace pine with rubber trees, you will have exactly the same forest. We therefore want to tell the whole world, the European consumer, the Asian consumer that our production is not only of high quality, but also that it is done in accordance with sustainability standards that contribute to the global effort to limit global warming. . »
The Ivorian Minister of Agriculture, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani is even more direct towards European officials. ” When producers are asked to show the origin of their products on the pretext that if this is not done, they will be sanctioned, this is not normal “, declares the minister. ” Rubber should not be one of those products. Contrary to what is said, the rubber tree is a useful tree, because it appeals to the rain. The areas where we have planted the most rubber trees are areas where it rains a lot “, adds Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani.
The CEO of Apromac, the body that brings together professionals in the sector, goes even further. “ We want MPs and everyone to hear us, rubber is a tool that can be used to reforest. It’s very positive “, he underlines.
Côte d’Ivoire is one of the leading agricultural powers in Africa. Rubber, cocoa, cashew or pineapple and bananas support millions of people. Suffice to say that advocacy towards the European Union has only just begun.