Dubai – Qahwa World
As climate change and escalating environmental pressures create unprecedented challenges for global coffee production, the industry is facing a critical turning point that threatens the sustainability of the entire supply chain. In response, World Coffee Research (WCR) is spearheading a massive international effort to develop high-performing, climate-resilient varieties designed to thrive in an increasingly volatile environment. A major strategic shift occurred in late 2025 when WCR integrated Robusta breeding into its Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network. This expansion recognizes that relying solely on Arabica is no longer a viable long-term strategy in the face of rapid global warming. As a committed member of WCR, Sucafina has expressed its pride in supporting this essential research, emphasizing that investing in variety development is the only definitive way to safeguard the future of coffee and secure the livelihoods of millions of farmers who form the backbone of the industry.
Coffee-growing conditions worldwide are undergoing forced evolution, requiring farmers at origin to adapt to weather patterns that no longer follow traditional predictability. Additionally, they must battle new strains of pests and diseases that thrive in rising temperatures. Strengthening the long-term resilience of the coffee supply has become a top priority, as high-performing varieties act as a vital shield, helping farmers mitigate climate stress while ensuring reliable, high-quality yields. However, the industry faces a significant temporal challenge: the process of developing, scientifically testing, and commercially releasing a new variety typically spans several decades—a timeframe the world cannot afford given the acceleration of climate change. Addressing these challenges requires practical, long-term collaboration, which is the core mission of WCR as an industry-driven research organization dedicated to identifying and developing the coffee varieties of tomorrow.
The launch of the Innovea program in 2022 marked a revolution in coffee breeding, designed to accelerate development by uniting national research institutes, governments, and the private sector across 11 countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Operating under standardized trial protocols, the network coordinates breeding efforts on a global scale, testing candidates across diverse soils, climates, and disease pressures. By pooling massive datasets and cross-border expertise, promising varieties are identified far more rapidly than through traditional methods, while ensuring they are perfectly suited for local farming systems. This innovative approach received global acclaim when Innovea was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025, recognizing its power to provide tangible solutions to one of agriculture’s most complex challenges.
Vern Long, CEO of WCR, explains that the program’s structure allows for a step change in variety performance faster than ever before, shortening development timelines from 30 years down to just eight. As climate challenges intensify, a continuous global pipeline of improved varieties will provide farmers with the tools needed to reduce risk and stabilize their income. Historically, breeding efforts focused almost exclusively on Arabica, despite the rise of Robusta, which now accounts for approximately 40% of global production. This shift is driven by Robusta’s natural heat tolerance and market dynamics. Robusta possesses greater genetic diversity than Arabica, yet its breeding is more complex as it cannot self-pollinate, requiring sophisticated management of parent plants. By late 2025, Robusta was fully integrated into the Innovea network, bringing in major producers like Vietnam and Ghana alongside enhanced programs in India, Indonesia, Rwanda, and Uganda. Together, these nations represent 64% of global Robusta production. The ultimate goal is to move these varieties from the lab to the field, evaluating thousands of candidates to identify the best performers that will secure a stable and sustainable foundation for the future of coffee.
