News

Since our creation in 2012, World Coffee Research has worked to create a path for sustainable coffee production through agricultural innovation to help coffee farmers face the challenges of climate change. One of our main area of focus has been the creation and propagation of the next generation of coffee varieties that are high in quality and yield, and resilient to diseases and the effects of climate change. This month, we are making great strides in this area with the launch of our African breeding hub in Rwanda, hosted by our partners at the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB).

Research shows clearly that rising temperatures pose the greatest threat to coffee, greater even than increased drought.

In 2017 and 2018, World Coffee Research has created two new groups of F1 hybrid crosses for evaluation in Central America, bringing the total number of F1 hybrids in evaluation to 66. The latest group is made up of so-called “three-way hybrids,” in which the mother plant of a new f1 hybrid cross is itself an F1 hybrid.

WCR is seeking the services of a professional team to develop two training manuals for a Nursery Development Program, which will operate in several coffee producing countries globally. The Nursery Development Program is aimed at strengthening the capacity of small entrepreneurial and cooperative nurseries and seed producers to produce adequate volumes of genetically pure and healthy seedlings. A main component of the Program will be a comprehensive training for seed producers and nurseries based on WCR Verified℠ nursery standards and good nursery and seed production practices.