2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Coffee plays a significant economic role globally and serves as a major source of foreign earnings in many producing countries. Despite challenges, world coffee production has grown steadily over the past 50 years, though it will be difficult to maintain this trend due to continued rise in production costs, as well as problems related to negative impacts of climate change and higher incidence of pests and diseases. Developing adaptation strategies will be critical in sustaining the coffee economy and livelihoods in many countries. The key to meeting this goal will lie in utilizing the varied coffee genetic resources to develop varieties with drought stress tolerances, pest and disease resistances, high cup quality, and increased production. In 2016, World Coffee Research and the Global Crop Diversity Trust spearheaded the development of the Global Conservation Strategy for Coffee Genetic Resources. Through engagement of multi-national stakeholders from various aspects of coffee production, processing, breeding, conservation and research, the goal of this Global Strategy is to ensure the conservation and use of coffee genetic resources for a positive, sustainable future of the crop and for those dependent on coffee for a livelihood. The Strategy will act as a framework for bringing together stakeholders at all levels – local, regional, national and global – in building awareness, capacity and engagement in conserving the genetic diversity and use of coffee genetic resources for the long term. Key elements of the Coffee Conservation Strategy will be discussed.