Starbucks Opens 2 Innovation Farms In Effort To Protect Coffee Supplies

Starbucks said on Thursday that it expanded its coffee innovation network to new farms in Costa Rica and Guatemala to protect the "future of coffee" from the effects of climate change.

The initiative builds on the company's development at Hacienda Alsacia, its first company-operated farm, with the goal to find solutions to increase productivity, support profitability for farmers and build climate resistance, the company said.

It said future farm investments are also planned for Africa and Asia, noting that the company will have a network that spans the three main growing regions of the "Coffee Belt" - Latin America, Africa and Asia Pacific. The company will study the different cultures, landscapes and growing methods that contribute to growing coffee.

"Starbucks works with more than 450,000 farms that grow the highest quality Arabica coffee in the world," said Michelle Burns, Starbucks executive vice president of Global Coffee and Sustainability.

"Our promise to those farmers and their communities is that we will always work to ensure a sustainable future of coffee for all. Our solution is to develop on-farm interventions, share seeds, research and practices across the industry to help farmers mitigate the impacts of climate change," Burns said in a statement.

At Hacienda Alsacia, Starbucks' global research hub in Costa Rica where it is working to reduce the effects of climate change, the company has been developing best practices to make growing more profitable and has developed the next generation of disease-resistant coffee.

Since committing to distribute 100 million coffee trees globally by 2025, Starbucks said it has distributed about 90 million climate-resistant trees and more than 53 million seedlings to farmers.

"Climate change is impacting the availability of high-quality coffee around the world and farming communities are feeling the impact on productivity, crop quality and their livelihoods," the company said in the release.

"Rising temperatures that cause drought, coffee leaf rust disease and other related climate challenges are impacting the availability, quality and taste of coffee as it's known today," Starbucks, which buys 3% of the world's coffee, said.

The new farms in Costa Rica and Guatemala will study hybrid coffee varieties under different elevations and soil conditions, and examine the use of mechanization, drones and other technologies to support labor challenges in the region.

The expansion is part of Starbucks' innovation network that includes 10 Farmer Support Centers in coffee-growing regions and 70 "model farms" within the company's supply chain.

"Through these innovation farms, we will develop solutions that will not only improve coffee productivity and quality but also empower farmers with the tools and knowledge needed to thrive in a changing world and challenging climate," Roberto Vega, Starbucks vice president of Global Coffee Agronomy, R&D and Sustainability, said in a statement.

"This work is done on behalf of coffee farmers everywhere with findings that can be applied across other industries and crops that are also impacted by climate change," Vega said.