Tag: WCR

World Coffee Research (WCR) announced the release of its 2025 annual report on December 31, 2025, detailing the expansion of its TIME-recognized Innova Global Coffee Breeding Network into robusta coffee, new data showing that half of current arabica land could become unsuitable by 2050, and seed system expansions across four producing countries.

The report, which covers the period between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025, confirmed that WCR’s Innova network has expanded to include Coffea canephora (robusta) breeding, adding Vietnam and Ghana as new national partners. Six countries now participate in robusta breeding: Vietnam, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Rwanda, and Uganda, which together produce 64 percent of the world’s robusta supply. Overall, 11 countries make up the Innova network, producing 40 percent of global coffee supply.

An independent panel of global breeding experts commissioned by WCR’s board of directors reviewed the organization’s breeding programs in early 2025 and described the approach as a “radical step forward” that sets a new bar for coffee breeding worldwide. The Innova network was subsequently named a TIME Best Invention of 2025. The robusta breeding program combines multiple genetic groups, including a collection provided by French research institute CIRAD. Propagation began in 2025, and starting in 2027 each robusta partner will receive 1,000 unique new trees from WCR.

The report detailed that WCR is working to reduce coffee breeding timelines from the traditional 30 years to just 8 years. In 2025, the organization initiated a collaboration with Cenicafe, one of the world’s leading national coffee research institutions, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Tropical Agricultural Research Station (USDA TARS) in Puerto Rico to develop low-cost genetic markers for Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR), the world’s most economically devastating coffee disease. In 2026, WCR will expand this work to cover Coffee Berry Disease (CBD), Coffee Fruit Rot (CFR), and Coffee Berry Borer (CBB). Once validated between 2025 and 2028, these markers will be publicly released through scholarly publication.

According to the report, 10-year results from the International Multilocation Variety Trial (IMLVT), launched in 2015 with 31 arabica varieties shared by 11 breeding programs, confirmed that coffee leaf rust resistance depends on both genetics and environment. A 2015 study by WCR and CIAT that guided site selection for the trial network identified that up to half of today’s arabica land could become unsuitable for coffee production by 2050. The IMLVT has identified high-performing varieties with strong rust resistance and stable yields. In 2026, WCR will launch CafeClima, a free online platform integrating climate modeling with IMLVT variety performance data to help farmers make data-driven replanting decisions.

WCR installed 10,000 F1 hybrid plantlets across 10 trial sites in Peru, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, planted directly in farmers’ fields through member-led trials. The report also detailed seed system expansions across four countries. In Peru, 10 new arabica seed lots were installed with 8 cooperatives, targeting 15 seed lots by 2028 producing up to 6 million seeds annually. In Uganda, 11 mother gardens for disease-resistant robusta were installed or expanded with national coffee institute NaCORI, targeting over 40 mother gardens by 2028 producing 560,000 trees per year. In Guatemala and Honduras, 12 new seed lots will be installed in 2026, producing 5.4 million seeds annually starting in 2029.

The report highlighted advocacy wins including $175 million secured in FY26 “hard earmarks” for international agricultural R&D through coordinated advocacy by U.S. member companies, with a legal requirement that a portion support coffee research. A separate coalition mobilized $850,000 for Uganda’s coffee future from UNIDO, JDE Peet’s, Lavazza Foundation and The J.M. Smucker Co.

According to the financial section of the report, total contributions earned from the coffee industry in 2025 was $4,962,000. The total year-end financial position reached $9,852,000. Figures are pre-audit. WCR confirmed the commitment of its 194 member companies from 30 countries, with 59 additional companies and individuals providing financial support in 2025. WCR’s knowledge products, including the Coffee Varieties Catalog, Sensory Lexicon, and nursery manuals, were viewed 239,722 times in 195 countries during 2025. The organization also installed a small-batch processing facility at its research farm in El Salvador, custom-designed for breeding programs to process samples from thousands of individual trees.