21/05/2026
Really good to see World Coffee Research extending trials to protect our favourite crop!
In 2025, WCR and our partners continued to nurture trial sites worldwide, testing both existing and new varieties. These sites help advance knowledge about how variety performance varies across environments and provide a testing ground to refine our breeding approach.
The International Multilocation Variety Trial (IMLVT) launched in 2015, as little more than an idea and some packets of seed: 11 breeding
programs agreed to share 31 high-performing arabica varieties for testing around the world. A decade later, we can see the trial’s significant impact, providing crucial information on coffee disease resistance, yields, genetic intelligence, and potential climate adaptation (as demonstrated by the CafeClima platform).
Meanwhile, precommercial F1 hybrid trials are now underway at 10 sites across Latin America. 10,000 F1 hybrid plantlets are now planted directly in farmers’ fields through member-led trials. The trials are a small-scale test-run of partnering with the private sector and will inform our future approach to variety deployment at scale.
Learn more about WCR's ongoing global collaboration through trial sites in the annual report: https://worldcoffeeresearch.org/resources/annual-report-2025