Short Abstract

The EUDR reshapes African commodities’ access to the European market. Beyond environmental governance, this panel examines North–South power relations and its potentially uneven effects on women and smallholder producers.

Long Abstract

The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), whose market-access requirements will apply in 2026–2027, conditions the export of commodities such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber to the European market on their being free from deforestation occurring after 2020. Beyond its environmental objectives, the EUDR reshapes power relations between European and African actors. An agency-based approach highlights differentiated responses: structured companies and cooperatives may internalise regulatory requirements and enhance the value of their products, whereas vulnerable producers, particularly women whose land rights and access to information are often constrained, may face increased risks of marginalisation.

Samir Amin’s centre–periphery framework provides a useful lens for examining how standards formulated at the “centre” redistribute costs and benefits towards the “periphery”, thereby reproducing structural asymmetries. Yet, the EUDR also holds potential to foster sustainable practices and strengthen local capacities, provided that targeted support mechanisms are put in place.

The discussion may therefore focus on the distribution of the green rent generated by certification and its implications for local economic sovereignty, as well as on gender and land-based agency, particularly the ways in which the EUDR affects women producers and the institutional conditions required for their effective inclusion. Contributions are encouraged to combine theoretical and empirical perspectives, field-based evidence, and policy-oriented reflections aimed at preventing exclusion, promoting local appropriation of the green rent, and reconciling transnational standards with territorial sovereignty.

Keywords: EUDR; Agency; Green Rent; Gender and Land Tenure

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