Singapore-based agribusiness Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) is deploying satellite tools, geospatial intelligence, and AI data-crunching to monitor deforestation, driven by impending European Union regulations. Roel van Poppel, ofi’s chief sustainability officer, stated the company’s approach aims to prove its environmental claims and support broader farming goals, not merely forest monitoring.
This digital push comes as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) prepares to take effect at the end of 2026. Under the new rules, large corporations must issue verifiable due diligence statements, confirming steps taken to identify and mitigate deforestation risks. Compliance documentation will require perimeter maps for plots larger than four hectares, with coordinates precise to at least six decimal places.
Securing Capital's Supply Chains
Ofi, a major supplier of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts, and spices, has set a target of becoming “forest positive” by 2030. Van Poppel described this goal as “much more stringent than deforestation-free,” committing the company to reverse forest loss. The company’s Choices for Change Impact Report 2025 claims ofi has planted 16.9 million “beneficial trees” in and around its suppliers’ farms, exceeding its internal target by nearly 2 million.
The company works directly with farmers to establish land limits using in-field polygon mapping. It then monitors forest cover within those plots using satellite tools such as Google Earth Engine and Global Forest Watch. Van Poppel expects to provide customers with “all relevant geolocation data, documentation, traceability” by the end of this year, enabling their EUDR applications.
Ofi's focus extends beyond deforestation to the “long-term existence of its key supply chains.” This ensures continued access to raw materials and markets. The company’s digital systems have made monitoring less time-intensive, reducing manual compliance needs by over 70% since it digitized its deforestation monitoring processes.
Farmers Under Surveillance
The company also aims to improve the productivity of its 2.75 million farmer suppliers, whose livelihoods are, by ofi’s own admission, “increasingly strained by market volatility and climate impacts.” Ofi agronomists, equipped with data on soil growth, crop species, yield volumes, and farm dependents, offer advice on farm inputs, planting practices, and other interventions. This data collection extends to a comprehensive Farmer Information System, which issues electronic devices to farmers to gather information on a range of subjects, not solely forest cover.
Despite technological advances, the system still has limits. Management oversight remains high. Each of the roughly 730,000 farms ofi has mapped typically requires several hours for physical survey and travel. Satellite systems also produce false positives, necessitating on-the-ground follow-ups that add time and costs.
Van Poppel is optimistic about artificial intelligence, noting ofi’s tie-in with Google. This collaboration involves Google taking anonymized geolocation data from ofi’s coffee supply chain to improve predictive modeling on sustainability issues, including deforestation, through machine learning. He cautioned that AI alone cannot manage anti-deforestation work, stating, “you have to continue to verify and sense-check that all the time.”
The State's Hand in Compliance
Ofi’s AtSource platform, launched 8 years ago, provides customers with farm-level data to meet regulatory and sustainability objectives. 5 years ago, van Poppel advocated internally for an industry-wide tool to share supplier data. This led to TRACT, a standalone platform founded by ofi with Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus. TRACT raised 18.6 million euros in Series A funding last year. Van Poppel headed the venture until stepping into his current CSO role 2 years ago and remains a TRACT board member.
Ofi’s data work is not yet complete. Its AI deployment is in its infancy, and mapping has not covered many farms smaller than four hectares or those in low-risk regions. Work remains on finalizing a volume traceability system for mixed supply chains under EUDR guidance. Van Poppel expressed support for more countries developing comprehensive deforestation-free requirements, particularly if they create “a common language and a level playing field,” which would standardize compliance for global capital.