$23m fund created to help battle coffee rust in Latin America

An international group that includes the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) and Starbucks is set to create a $23m fund which will aid Latin American coffee farmers as they continue in their ongoing battle against coffee rust.

Coffee rust (Hemileia vastatrix), also commonly known as roya, is a disease which can devastate plantations and has, unfortunately, become a worldwide problem. The first documented case of the fungus was recorded in Kenya in the 19th century but it has since spread across Sri Lanka and Asia before making its first appearance in the Americas in the early 1970s.

Affected plants are coated with an orangey power, hence the term ‘coffee rust.’

This reserve is just part of the international coffee communities attempt to fight the disease that is currently plaguing farmers in the Central American nations of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Concern within the industry has been growing as of late, with many worrying that the long-term supply of high-quality arabica beans could irrevocably decline.

Money has also been donated by Keurig Green Mountain, Cooperative Coffees and Root Capital, with the collective funds to be used towards educating farmers in Central and South America. An additional investment by Root Capital, the non-profit social investment group, will be used as part of a long-term project to repair ravaged fields and, in the short-term, keep the farmers in business.

As for Starbucks their contribution is just one facet of a multi-pronged approach. Last year the Seattle-based company purchased a farm in Costa Rica where they are currently testing a variety of cultivation methods and are trialling coffee resistant and resilient strains of coffee.

According to estimates made by USAID coffee production in areas where the disease is prominent could fall by as much as 40% in the upcoming years, which could cause half-a-million people to lose their jobs.