2025 delivered unprecedented disruption to the international coffee sector, says World Coffee Research (WCR) CEO Dr. Jennifer ‘Vern’ Long, with the organisation countering negative disruption with the expansion of the Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network.
The year 2025 delivered unprecedented disruption to the international coffee sector – from market consolidation and tariff pressures, to the retreat of public investment in agricultural science, to the increasing impact of climate change on supply, pushing prices to historic highs. Against this backdrop, World Coffee Research (WCR) countered negative disruption with a powerful, positive one: the expansion of the Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network. This landmark accomplishment was recognised as one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025, solidifying the network’s role in future-proofing our favourite crop.
The expansion to include robusta breeding – and the addition of Vietnam and Ghana as partners – has brought the network to 11 national partners who together export over 40 per cent of the world’s coffee. This collaborative model is the world’s largest coffee breeding pipeline, focused on speed, cost-effectiveness, and the technical quality required to ensure high-quality coffee thrives for generations.
In 2026, we deepen our commitment to technical excellence and global partnership with our eleven national research partners and the global community of coffee breeders and scientists. Together, we power the engine that drives progress in bringing next generation varieties to coffee agriculture.
The year ahead will undoubtedly continue to be marked by disruption. Yet in destabilising moments, doing nothing is not an option. Our industry can and must put forward positive solutions. Genetics is one such force – coffee has never before had access to the kinds of varieties now moving through Innovea’s global pipeline. Another is collaboration: solving systemic challenges requires committed, cross-border cooperation and industry leadership in shaping the innovation agenda.
My hope for 2026 is that the coffee sector continues to lead boldly into the white space created by disruption – working together to bring the first 100 next-generation varieties into national trials and securing a vibrant, resilient future for coffee. In the face of great necessity, industry-led, focused, technically excellent collaboration is how we deliver the tools to define our own destiny.
