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The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will lead a new federal research program on coffee and cacao, with $8 million obligated for its first year. The program, co-directed by Clemson University, will work with universities and industry partners on crop resilience, farm practices and research capacity. Specific project sites and plans have not been announced.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will lead a new federally funded research program on coffee and cacao, with an initial $8 million obligation for its first year, according to Daily Coffee News. The U.S. Department of State is funding the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Coffee and Cacao, which Clemson University will co-direct and which could run for up to five years.
The program is a multi-institution research effort, not a newly built laboratory facility. Its work is expected to span coffee- and cacao-producing regions in the United States, Latin America, Africa and Asia. The first-year funding has been obligated, but the source does not specify how it will be divided among institutions or projects.
Research priorities include breeding coffee and cacao plants with greater resistance to disease and drought, along with farm management, post-harvest processing and research capacity in producing countries. Economic research is also expected to help governments identify where agricultural research funding could have the greatest effect, according to the report.
Partners include World Coffee Research and the Coffee Quality Institute, as well as UC Davis, Michigan State University, Ohio State University and Penn State. Mars, PlantVillage+ and the Synergistic Hawaiʻi Agriculture Council are also participating. The program is one of eight Feed the Future Innovation Labs announced by the State Department on October 15.
Research Aimed at Crop Resilience
The lab brings federal support to research on two crops facing pressure from disease, drought and climate-related challenges. Better-performing varieties and improved farm or processing practices could affect growers in Hawaiʻi and other producing regions, though the program has not yet released project plans or promised specific outcomes.
Hawaiʻi has a direct stake: it is the only U.S. state that commercially produces both coffee and cacao. Coffee leaf rust, first detected in Hawaiʻi in 2020, has since spread throughout the state. The Synergistic Hawaiʻi Agriculture Council estimates state coffee production at 20.7 million pounds for the 2025–26 season, down from 23.3 million pounds in 2023–24. The group says production has fallen annually since 2022 and attributes much of the decline to leaf rust.
The investment also addresses a long-running funding concern. A 2023 World Coffee Research report estimated the global coffee sector would need an additional $452 million a year for a decade in agricultural research and development to help maintain production diversity and quality. That estimate reflects a sector-wide funding need; it is not a cost estimate for this lab.
coffee plant disease resistant varieties
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Federal Coffee Research Funding
Coffee organizations had advocated for greater U.S. public investment in coffee research for years. The Synergistic Hawaiʻi Agriculture Council says its administrator, Suzanne Shriner, and World Coffee Research began making the case to members of Congress in 2020. In 2023, the council, World Coffee Research, the National Coffee Association and the Hawaiʻi Coffee Association supported federal legislation intended to broaden funding for coffee plant-health research.
The new program also follows disruption to the Feed the Future university research system after USAID was dismantled in 2025. Feed the Future Innovation Labs had historically received funding through USAID. A five-year, $5.485 million cooperative agreement awarded by USAID to Cornell University for a Coffee Improvement Program with World Coffee Research was terminated in 2025; federal award records show $1 million had been obligated before termination, according to Daily Coffee News.
The State Department’s October 15 announcement included eight university-based Innovation Labs. Their other research areas include cereals, soil fertility, animal health, peanuts and aquaculture. The coffee and cacao program shifts its federal funding source to the State Department, but details on how its work will be coordinated with previous initiatives have not been reported.
“The Innovation Lab is designed to transform coffee and cacao science into practical benefits for small farmers in Hawaii, the continental U.S., and around the world.”
— Parwinder Grewal, dean of the UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience and the program’s principal investigator
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Project Sites and Budgets Pending
The program’s overall scope is outlined, but specific producing-country research sites and individual projects have not been announced. The source also does not provide a schedule for project selection, the amount of funding planned for later years, or a breakdown of the first-year obligation among partners.
The agreement could run for up to five years, but the available information does not confirm that funding at the same level will continue annually. Expected research areas are priorities, not completed findings or guarantees that particular crop varieties, practices or economic benefits will result.
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Program Launch and Project Details
The lab is launching in October 2026, following the State Department’s announcement of the eight Innovation Labs on October 15. As the program begins, further announcements are expected to clarify where research will take place, which projects will receive support and how the participating institutions will divide responsibilities.
Those details will show how the first-year funding is translated into research for growers and producing-country partners. The source material does not give a date for those announcements or identify a first research milestone.
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Key Questions
What is the new Coffee and Cacao Innovation Lab?
It is a federally funded, multi-institution research program led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and co-directed by Clemson University, rather than a single new laboratory building.
How much funding has been announced?
The program has an initial $8 million obligation for its first year. The agreement could last up to five years, but the source does not state the funding planned for later years or how the first-year amount will be allocated.
What will researchers study?
Priorities include breeding coffee and cacao for greater disease and drought resistance, farm management, post-harvest processing, research capacity in producing countries and economic analysis of agricultural research investments.
Who is participating in the program?
Partners include Clemson University, World Coffee Research, the Coffee Quality Institute, UC Davis, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State. Mars, PlantVillage+ and the Synergistic Hawaiʻi Agriculture Council are also participating.
Where will the research take place?
The work is expected to cover coffee- and cacao-producing regions in the United States, Latin America, Africa and Asia. Specific country sites and individual projects have not yet been announced.
Source: rss
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