FIT for FAIR
Agricultural supply chains sustain billions of livelihoods but are often linked to severe environmental and social impacts, such as deforestation, child labour, and poor working conditions. To address these challenges, Germany and the EU have introduced due diligence laws—including the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG), the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), and the upcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)—requiring companies to take concrete action to identify, prevent, address and mitigate environmental- and human rights risks throughout their global value chains.
Project goals
FIT for FAIR aims to enable partner countries to create a conducive legal-political environment allowing relevant supply chain actors to facilitate compliance with the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG), the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products (EUDR). By doing so, the project seeks to support access to the German and European markets for its partners.
Project implementation
The project informs about the LkSG, the EUDR, and CSDDD. Furthermore, it analyses the current state of relevant and corresponding national legislative and political frameworks and compares them to EU and German due diligence legislation resulting in a gap analysis. Based on this analysis, policy recommendations to facilitate compliance with EU and German Due Diligence legislation are formulated and conveyed to decision-makers in the countries of project implementation. A special focus is given to creating a conducive environment enabling supply chain actors to create smallholder-inclusive supply chains. To enhance network creation and knowledge exchange, lessons learned are shared with European and German decision-makers.
Project partners
Political mandate and host organisations
The project’s host organisations provide expertise, facilitate and lead implementation, and document project activities. Governmental institutions ensure political backing, mobilize government actors, provide key knowledge, and adapt the national framework to due diligence requirements. Host organizations leading the FIT for FAIR project include the Conseil National des Exportations (CNE) in Côte d’Ivoire, the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) in Ethiopia, the Colombian Confederation of Chambers of Commerce (Confecámaras) in Colombia, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with the National Agricultural Export Board (NAEB) in Rwanda.
FIT for FAIR Working Groups
Working groups are formed in each project country, engaging key stakeholders from government, civil society, farmer- and labor unions, the private sector, and R&D. Through workshops, members will share expertise, address challenges, and explore policy opportunities linked to creating conducive policies and legislative environment allowing compliance with EU/German due diligence laws. National and international experts provide guidance and support.
What has been achieved so far?
The FIT for FAIR Colombia project concluded in March 2025. Led by the Colombian Confederation of Chambers of Commerce (Confecámaras), the project focused on identifying gaps between Colombia's national legislative framework and requirements of the EUDR, LkSG, and CSDDD through a status quo and gap analysis.
National and regional workshops with over 480 participations considered perspectives from producers, businesses, government, academia, and civil society in the coffee, palm oil, and cacao value chains. They project not only identified legal gaps between Colombia's national legislative framework and EU requirements (EUDR, LkSG, CSDDD), it also focused on practical gaps on the ground. As a result, a “Due Diligence Model for the Colombian Agricultural Sector” was developed, structured around four main components: (1) guidelines and standards, (2) tools and procedures, (3) capacity and knowledge building, and (4) collaboration among stakeholders. A roadmap with policy recommendations for short-, medium-, and long-term actions supports the model’s implementation. Follow-up activities look for improved exporter-importer relations through bilateral exchange on specific needs and expectations.
FIT for FAIR Côte d’Ivoire in collaboration with the partner organization Conseil National des Exportations (CNE) presented the results of the status quo analysis, which encompasses a comparison of national framework conditions with the due diligence regulatory requirements. The analysis was discussed and validated with around 60 participants from the private sector, civil society, and government representatives end February 2025. Based on this assessment, the working group has now formulated initial policy recommendations and associated roadmaps to tackle the identified challenges. The final results are to be presented at the end of July.
In Ethiopia, partners are working with the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) to develop policy recommendations. Following a kick-off workshop with nearly 40 participants, a multi-stakeholder task force was established, and two meetings were held with key actors from the government and the private sector.
Future prospects
The following results are expected as outcomes of the project process in each of the six partner countries:
- An assessment of the current state of the national due diligence framework, including legislation, standards, institutional setup, processes, strategic approach, and policy framework, has been completed.
- A gap analysis towards the alignment with German and EU due diligence legislation has been established.
- Policy recommendations and roadmaps have been developed and conveyed to national decision-makers.
- A self-sustaining network has been created, capable of supporting the process beyond the involvement of GIZ. It will facilitate the transition from proposed solutions to concrete policies enacted by national decision-makers.
- Experiences with operationalising due diligence in partner countries, including challenges and opportunities, are transferred back to European and German decision-makers.