Genes from wild coffee to boost Arabica’s resilience to climate change and adverse conditions

MILAN — As growing Arabica coffee becomes increasingly difficult and expensive due to climate change, researchers in Brazil and around the world are attempting to create more resilient plants by cross-breeding genes from other species of the Coffea genus. At the forefront of these experiments is the Campinas Agronomic Institute (IAC), a historic and prestigious research institution founded in 1887, in the city of the same name in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.

The experiments involve analysing the genetic makeup of specific species, such as Coffea liberica, grown in various parts of the world, albeit with secondary commercial importance compared to Arabica and Robusta, or the intriguing Coffea stenophylla, recently rediscovered and revived through a pilot project in Sierra Leone, but also Coffea racemosa, a wild species native to Mozambique and South Africa, characterised by its very low caffeine content.

The aim is to graft genetic material from more resilient species in order to create hybrids that can withstand the increasingly unpredictable conditions of a changing climate.

This is a long and difficult process involving laboratory selection and field trials that can take decades

Oliveiro Guerreiro Filho, an agronomist at the IAC, said in an interview with Reuters that they have been working for years at the Institute to transfer drought-tolerance genes from racemosa to arabica. “We are trying to create drought-tolerant Arabica varieties.”

The aim is also to increase resistance to pests and diseases. Crossbreeds between Arabica and Liberica, for example, have proven to be more resistant to coffee rust.

Meanwhile, crossbreeds between C. arabica and C. racemosa have produced plants that defend themselves better against attacks by the larvae of Leucoptera coffeella (the coffee leaf miner).

“Working with other species of coffee is important because Arabica’s genetic base is so narrow, it makes it vulnerable to pests and diseases,’ said Rodolfo Oliveira, head of the coffee unit at the Brazilian state agricultural research agency Embrapa, emphasising the importance of introducing ‘wild’ genetic material from less common species.

The Robusta boom in Brazil

Another effect of climate change on the Brazilian coffee sector is the boom in Robusta coffee growing, whose production has increased by over 80% over the last 10 years, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture.

The sharp increase in production of this less prized variety is not necessarily the result of growing demand, explains Fernando Maximiliano, Coffee Market Intelligence Manager at StoneX, in an interview with Bloomberg, adding: “In reality, climate problems and losses in Arabica were the main factors that contributed to stimulating Robusta growth.”

Conab’s official estimate for 2026/27 forecasts a further expansion in the Robusta crop (+6.4%), to a new all-time high of 22.1 million.

Thanks to the on-cycle, Arabica production is expected to grow by 23.3% to reach 44.1 million bags.

Conab may revise these figures upwards in its second estimate, due to be published on 21 May 2026.