World Coffee Research launches US$1.5M genetic breeding project to transform global coffee production 

GLOBAL – World Coffee Research (WCR) has announced a $1.5 million USD project aimed at modernizing coffee breeding through high-precision tools designed to make breeding faster, more efficient, and more cost-effective. 

WCR said the initiative “supercharges” global breeding pipelines by replacing traditional slow, observational breeding methods with data-driven precision systems. 

The project is supported by a grant from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and matched by industry co-investment from coffee suppliers including Taylors of Harrogate, Coffee Circle, and other WCR member companies. 

Through molecular breeding techniques, scientists can identify genetic markers linked to disease resistance by analysing a plant’s DNA. This allows breeders to confirm desired traits within weeks instead of waiting years for field trial observations. 

The approach uses natural genetic diversity and does not involve genetic modification, reducing the typical 25 to 30-year timeline for developing a new coffee variety by half or more. 

WCR stated that these tools will accelerate the development of high-performing coffee varieties needed to strengthen global supply resilience. 

“This project is about building foundational technology that will benefit our entire sector,” said Dr. Jennifer “Vern” Long, CEO of World Coffee Research. 

“By developing these tools and making them available to researchers globally – as well as putting them into immediate use in Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network – we are providing the industry with the insurance it needs to thrive while ensuring that even under-resourced breeding programs can participate in the next era of coffee innovation.” 

The first workstream focuses on Arabica genetic marker mapping for major pests and diseases including coffee leaf rust, coffee berry disease, coffee fruit rot, and coffee berry borer, which together cause hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses across the industry. 

The second workstream develops a genotyping tool for Coffea canephora (Robusta), which accounts for over 40 per cent of global coffee production. The tool uses 3,500 genetic markers to build a modern genetic roadmap that enables faster selection of high-performing parent plants for breeding programs. 

A similar Arabica tool introduced in 2025 is already being used within the Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network to shorten breeding timelines and identify disease resistance traits. 

The third workstream focuses on training national breeders in multiple producing countries in genomic approaches to ensure the tools are adopted locally and help deliver improved coffee varieties to farmers more quickly. 

“This initiative is a critical step in closing coffee’s long-standing innovation gap and accelerating breeding,” said Dr. Tania Humphrey, WCR Senior Director of Innovation and Principal Investigator. 

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