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Walailak University's School of Accountancy and Finance held a training workshop on August 11 to help rubber farmers understand the European Union's Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), a law that will determine whether Thai rubber can continue to reach European markets.

Held at the Grand Southern Hotel in Thung Song district, the workshop drew about 130 rubber farmers and industry stakeholders. Mr. Thada Phrommi, director of the Rubber Authority of Thailand's Central Southern Region, presided over the opening ceremony.

The EUDR requires that natural rubber and other commodities entering the EU be traceable to farmland that has not been deforested, with all production legally documented — including precise plot coordinates and land-rights papers. Because Thailand's rubber industry depends heavily on smallholder farmers, the country must move quickly to build the data systems needed to comply. 

The workshop is part of a research project, "Strengthening the Knowledge and Readiness of Rubber Farmers and Entrepreneurs in Complying with EUDR," funded by the Agricultural Research Development Agency (ARDA) and the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT), which also serves as the project's main network partner. The project covers 12 provinces across Thailand's major rubber-growing regions.



Assistant Professor Dr. Somjai Nupueng, the project's lead researcher, said compliance with the EUDR is not solely an exporter's responsibility but concerns every link in the supply chain, starting with farmers, since data collected at the plantation level underpins the entire traceability system.

"What this project wants is for farmers to understand that the EUDR isn't something distant from their everyday lives. Knowing your plot's coordinates, keeping accurate data and documentation, and being able to connect your own production data into the supply chain will be an essential foundation for safeguarding Thai rubber's market opportunities going forward. That's why we need to start preparing today, and to develop farmer leaders who can bring this knowledge back and put it into practice in their own areas," said Dr. Somjai.

The project aims to train 1,500 farmers and develop 150 network leaders across the 12 target provinces. It will also produce guidance manuals and data-collection tools designed to reduce compliance risk, strengthen the competitiveness of Thai rubber, and help the industry retain its footing in the EU market over the long term.