World Coffee Research chief executive Vern Long says the coffee industry can learn important lessons from the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a webinar organised by the British Coffee Association on 21 January 2021, Ms Long said the way the international scientific community responded to Covid-19, quickly developing vaccines that are being rolled out around the world, showed how important it is to have a framework in place to respond to potential threats.
When the pandemic happened, she said, the scientific community was able to mobilise around a framework that was in place for just that kind of eventuality. Scientists and companies around the world were able to quickly develop vaccines and get them to end users as soon as possible. The coffee industry needs just such a framework too, she said, one that can respond to threats such as coffee leaf rust.
“We need to ask ourselves, what do we need to do to be ready to handle a resurgence in leaf rust or another threat to production?” She cited the example of coffee leaf rust’s devasting effect on production in Sri Lanka in the 19th century, when it was almost wiped out, and highlighted how dependent the coffee industry has become on a few leading origins, such as Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia – just as it once heavily depended on Sri Lanka.
“We need to ask how much risk mitigation we have, and if it would be sufficient to respond to a threat to production, in the same way scientists responded to Covid-19,” Ms Long said. “In countries like Brazil there is a commitment to agricultural R&D, but most producing countries can’t fund R&D of their own and there aren’t any pathways to get technology into the hands of farmers should they need it. World Coffee Research acts as a bridge, connecting the different ends of the supply chain so that we are prepared for challenges like Covid-19,” she concluded.
[Jan21coffee01:] Vern Long: “the coffee industry needs structures in place to respond to future threats”