The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and World Coffee Research (WCR) have come together to launch “#thefutureofcoffee”, a campaign to drive awareness about WCR’s work and encourage the community to support the nonprofit by donating or becoming members. The campaign will centre around the celebrations of International Coffee Day, which take place around the world from Friday, 29 September until Sunday, 1 October. The #futureofcoffee campaign will run on social media and features a website and video. “Coffee as an agricultural crop faces an existential crisis,” says Ric Rhinehart, Executive Director of the SCA. “World Coffee Research represents the best industry response to the pressing need for solutions to the myriad problems facing coffee and coffee producers around the globe, executed as a collaborative research support program. Only the continued strong support of the coffee industry and its leading companies, large and small, can set the stage for a viable coffee future.” Rhinehart was a founding board member of World Coffee Research, the coffee industry’s only collaborative, global scientific organisation addressing coffee agriculture. There are two ways to support World Coffee Research through the #futureofcoffee campaign:
• Individuals and businesses may become WCR members by making a recurring donation in any amount or choose to make a one-time gift of $1000.
• Roasters and importers are encouraged to join WCR’s Checkoff Program, where roasters choose to donate a certain amount per pound or kilo of green coffee purchased from participating suppliers. Learn more about these options at www.futureof.coffee. “Agricultural science is the tool that ever major crop in the world uses improve yields, quality, climate resilience, and farmer livelihoods,” says WCR CEO Tim Schilling. “Coffee is way behind, and we need to change that.” Between now and 2050, demand for coffee is expected to double, while the available land suitable for growing coffee may fall by half. World Coffee Research has a major focus on coffee breeding—developing the next generation of high yielding, resilient coffee varieties, while increasing quality in the cup. The organisation is conducting the first global research to drive best agricultural practices, minimize inputs and environmental impacts, and maximise farmer incomes. World Coffee Research has already delivered impressive results: in just five years, it has established more than 60 new coffee varieties for evaluation, two global breeding hubs, and an unprecedented international network of research trials to test variety performance, agricultural approaches for climate resilience, and to track and control coffee disease/pest movement.
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Spotlight on coffee research this International Coffee Day
