The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will spearhead a new U.S. federally funded research initiative focused on coffee and cacao. The program, known as the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Coffee and Cacao, has received an initial $8 million for its first year, under an agreement that could extend for up to five years. This multi-institutional effort will be co-directed by Clemson University and aims to conduct research across producing regions in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
The program's research priorities include breeding new coffee and cacao varieties with enhanced resistance to disease and drought. It will also focus on improving farm management practices and post-harvest processing techniques, while simultaneously building research capacity within producing countries. Key partners in the coffee sector include World Coffee Research (WCR) and the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), alongside several U.S. universities and agricultural organizations.
This new lab addresses a critical gap in public funding for agricultural research, which was impacted by the 2025 dismantling of USAID and its associated programs. The investment follows years of advocacy from industry groups for greater federal support for coffee plant health, especially as threats like coffee leaf rust have spread in producing areas like Hawaii. While significant, the funding is a fraction of the estimated $452 million annual investment that WCR reported in 2023 would be needed to secure the sector's future against climate change and economic pressures.