The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) has joined the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Coffee and Cacao (CCIL), a multi-year international research program. The initiative is focused on enhancing the resilience, productivity, and sustainability of coffee and cacao farming for smallholder producers across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the United States.
Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the CCIL is led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, with Clemson University serving as co-lead. The program's research priorities include developing crop varieties with better resistance to disease and drought, improving farm management techniques, and refining post-harvest practices. The partnership brings together a number of academic institutions and industry organizations, including Michigan State University, World Coffee Research, and the Coffee Quality Institute.
Through its Coffee Center, UC Davis will contribute expertise in post-harvest engineering, chemical analysis, and sensory evaluation. The university's role will involve integrating these disciplines to identify and strengthen coffee production and processing methods. According to the university, the goal is to refine methodologies, deliver actionable data, and train producers to help elevate coffee quality and advance sustainability throughout the supply chain.