Embrapa Trace: the “digital passport” tracking soy, coffee and beef from field to market

Embrapa has launched Embrapa Trace, a set of traceability APIs that follow agricultural products from their origin to the market. Presented during the fourth edition of Agro em Código, held on October 27 in São Paulo, the solution already has validated versions for three supply chains: soy, coffee and beef cattle.

In practice, the tool standardizes self-declared information from producers, validates and integrates existing certifications, and consolidates the evidence into a single compliance opinion. According to researcher Anderson Alves, of Embrapa Agricultura Digital, the result works like a “digital passport for the product”, and compliance reports can be accessed via QR code.

The system follows the full cycle: farm registration, monitoring of farming practices and agri-environmental compliance, recording of origin, volume and production date, control of transport and storage with lot segregation, and tracking at processing units. Producers supply data to industries, slaughterhouses, crushers and cooperatives, while independent certifiers attest compliance.

Embrapa Trace connects to other public tools, such as TerraClass, from Embrapa and Inpe, which monitors land use in the Amazon and the Cerrado, and ElegiAgro, which cross-checks cadastral, land and geospatial databases. The solution is also set to join the AgroBrasil Mais Sustentável (AB+S) Platform, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and can be accessed through the AgroAPI platform.

The backdrop is tightening international requirements. The tool was designed to meet, among other rules, the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and controls on antimicrobials in animal production. From December 30, 2026, large and medium exporters to the European market must prove their products do not come from areas deforested after 2020, with geolocation of each production area; micro and small producers have until June 30, 2027.

For Stanley Oliveira, head of Embrapa Agricultura Digital, the advantage is creating a national base of reliable information instead of answering each buyer separately, which cuts costs and rework. Other chains, such as cocoa, honey, rubber, tuna, broiler chicken, pork, timber and tilapia, are planned for future versions.

Image credit: illustrative photo of a soybean field in Brazil, via Olhar Digital. The image illustrates one of the supply chains covered by the tool, not the Embrapa Trace system itself.

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