As climate change intensifies and supply chains grow increasingly fragile, the future of coffee faces unprecedented challenges. From rising temperatures to more frequent extreme weather events, coffee farmers around the globe are being forced to adapt or risk being left behind.

In this interview, we speak with Hanna Neuschwander, senior advisor of communications at World Coffee Research (WCR), to explore the critical role of agricultural R&D in safeguarding the future of coffee, the power of improved varieties and what lies ahead for the organisation as it scales up its global breeding networks for arabica and robusta.

Can you give me a brief overview of the work of your organisation?

WCR is a non-profit agricultural research organisation focused on securing the future of coffee in the face of climate change. WCR enables the global coffee industry to make collaborative investments in agricultural R&D to develop high-performing, climate-resilient coffee varieties. Our work spans breeding, variety testing and seed system improvements, helping farmers gain access to better trees.

Through global networks – including the Innovea Global Arabica Breeding Network and a forthcoming robusta network – we are transforming the pace and scale of genetic improvement. By partnering with national research institutions in over a dozen countries, we accelerate the development and dissemination of improved varieties that meet the diverse needs of farmers and markets worldwide.

What makes a coffee variety sustainable?

Improved varieties are one of the most powerful tools we have to address the climate crisis and meet farmer and consumer demand. The key is creating options and choices for farmers that can meet their diverse needs. Today, farmers in many countries have extremely limited choices about which varieties to grow (sometimes only one, sometimes a small handful).

In many regions, the coffee varieties available to farmers haven’t seen genetic improvements in 50 or more years. Because the impacts of climate change will be different in different places, farmers need many options, including varieties adapted to drier, hotter, wetter or colder weather; varieties resistant to key diseases thriving in warmer climates, such as coffee leaf rust; varieties which are adapted for agroforestry, which can help farmers improve quality, diversify their incomes and act as carbon sinks.

What are the main challenges facing the coffee industry today?

Coffee is facing historic high prices right now in part because of two key factors: climate change and origin consolidation. Today only two countries supply the majority of the world’s coffee – Brazil and Vietnam – and both faced climate shocks in 2024 and 2025 that caused coffee production to fall. This is deeply concerning because synchronous climate shocks are on the rise. As the gap between low-productivity and high-productivity countries widens, it speeds up consolidation of producing origins, leaving many farmers behind.

At the same time, farmers who have the ability to withstand a climate shock – those with the right coffee trees, who follow climate-smart agricultural practices, and who have access to capital and savings – can take advantage of the economic upside of rising prices. Those who are not able to adapt – those with lower yields and/or destroyed crops – are left behind.

How can investment in agricultural R&D benefit stakeholders in the coffee industry?

Increasing global investments in coffee R&D to accelerate innovations like improved variety development can support the coffee sector to keep up with growing consumer demand and respond to the challenges of climate change and poverty, while avoiding further consolidation of production.

Transformative progress can be made to improve both C arabica and C canephora coffee varieties by expanding coffee breeding efforts globally. Coffee has been one of the most under-researched commodities around the world; by applying the breeding best practices  followed in other crops, coffee production and quality can leap forward.

WCR estimates that the global need for coffee agricultural R&D to meet the challenge of climate change in the face of rising demand is $452 million per year over and above current investment levels.

How can government intervention and support help farmers and other stakeholders to address these challenges?

Governments can have tremendous influence and impact in creating a supportive environment for farmer success. They invest in breeding and other research, train and support farmers through extension services and facilitate favorable trade policy. 

Most of the dominant producing countries are successful exporters of coffee precisely because they have extensive national support to their farming sectors. Looking ahead at the challenges of climate change, governments can proactively invest in climate adaptation efforts in geographic areas with high adaptation potential, including coffee replanting and renovation programmes to ensure farmers have access to climate-smart varieties that can thrive even in future climate conditions.

Photo credit: World Coffee Research

Can you tell me about your work on coffee breeding networks for arabica and robusta? How will they help ensure stable supply?

WCR’s global breeding networks for arabica and robusta are directly relevant to supply stability. They bring together 11 countries to make major strides forward in genetic progress and variety release, ensuring farmers will have access to many options for the best high-performing, locally tailored genetics in their fields.

The Innovea Global Arabica Breeding Network launched in 2022 and a robusta breeding network will launch in 2025. These networks use global testing and modern breeding techniques to support participating countries to develop varieties that perform well under extreme weather, resist diseases like coffee leaf rust and adapt to diverse growing conditions. The first arabica varieties will be selected no later than 2030, with robusta to follow.

Using modern “speed breeding” approaches, we are significantly shortening the amount of time it takes to deliver climate-smart choices to farmers from 25-35 years to six to ten years. Such approaches combine the use of large amounts of genetic information with traditional, non-GM breeding techniques and agronomic practices to speed up the reproductive cycles of trees used in breeding.

Looking ahead, what can you tell us about your plans for the next 12 months and beyond?

In the coming year, WCR will continue advancing its global breeding and variety testing programs. A major milestone will be the launch of our robusta breeding network in 2025, modeled on our existing arabica network. We will also extend our global variety trial network, which evaluates coffee performance in diverse climates to guide future breeding and farming decisions.

These efforts aim to dramatically shorten the timeline for delivering climate-resilient varieties to farmers – from decades to under ten years – and to ensure that improved genetics reach the hands of farmers through strengthened seed systems. Our work remains focused on climate resilience, productivity and long-term supply security.