Our progress: 2026

What we achieved this year with the support of your membership

Together, we are creating the future of coffee. 

Along with over 200 member companies across 30 countries, your membership directly funds research that addresses production challenges and will secure a sustainable supply of quality coffee. Better coffee starts here: in 2026, your membership made possible tremendous progress toward a brighter future for our industry.

Read the full collection of updates on our work—with major milestones across our four program areas—from this past year below.

Breeding

Our goal
We will deliver high-performing arabica and robusta varieties that are climate resilient, high yielding, pest/disease tolerant, high cup quality.

News

Robusta breeding update: 1,000 clones advancing

Milestone marks a shift from planning to plants
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News

New $1.5 Million Initiative Will Modernize Breeding Tools for Global Coffee Resilience

Public-private  partnership aims to make breeding faster, better, and cheaper for the entire sector
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News

New paper charts the future of robusta coffee breeding

Defines a roadmap for accelerating genetic improvement to support global coffee supplies
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News

Shaping the future of quality: member cuppers taste new WCR variety candidates

A first-of-its-kind cupping to deliver the coffee our industry needs
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Seed systems

Our goal
We will deploy stocks of plants with better genetics and ensure that gains are sustained over time.

News

WCR connects Ugandan scientists with Cenicafé to strengthen coffee seed systems

Supporting Africa’s leading coffee exporter through knowledge exchange
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News

UNIDO and Coffee Industry Leaders Join Forces To Strengthen Uganda's Coffee Seed Systems and Farmer Livelihoods

UNIDO, JDE Peet's, The J.M. Smucker Co., and Lavazza Foundation commit €850,000 toward a WCR-led effort to strengthen seed system supply chain resilience in Africa's largest coffee exporter.
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Trials

Our goal
We will identify better existing genetics in the short-term through trials and develop partnership models to support future variety release.

News

Rwanda Advances Climate-Resilient Coffee Varieties 

Rwanda is moving a new wave of coffee varieties into advanced trials—a critical step for the 350,000 households that depend on coffee for livelihoods
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News

CafeClima—a new science-based tool for climate-smart coffee replanting investments

Aging coffee trees threaten supply—new data platform helps farmers and investors manage climate risk
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Membership

World Coffee Research is 200+ companies in 30 countries working together to drive global, collaborative R&D to ensure the future of coffee.

News

Third annual member day brings participants closer to the future of coffee at WCR farm

Member company representatives from across the world gather in El Salvador to engage first-hand with WCR’s work
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