Oct. 3 (UPI) — Starbucks said Thursday it is buying two new coffee farms in Guatemala and Costa Rica in an effort to protect the future of coffee against climate-change impacts.
Starbucks said in a statement that the new company-operated farms will be used to help find solutions to increase farm productivity, support increased profits for farmers and to also learn how to build climate resilience 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,” Starbucks executive vice president of Global Coffee and Sustainability Michelle Burns said. “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.”
Starbucks said Thursday that climate change is impacting coffee availability worldwide and farming communities are feeling it when it comes to productivity, crop quality and farmer livelihoods.
The first Starbucks-owned coffee farm is Hacienda Alsacia in Costa Rica, which the company bought in 2017.
According to Starbucks, that farm has been used to create best practices in coffee growing and to develop the next generation of disease-resistant quality coffee. What Starbucks has learned is being shared with farmers around the world, according to the company.
“For example, since making the commitment to distribute 100 million coffee trees by 2025, Starbucks has distributed approximately 90 million climate-resistant coffee trees and more than 53 million coffee seedlings to farmers,” Starbucks’ Thursday statement said. “Additional coffee innovation farms will enable more research in new geographies to better mitigate the threat of climate change.”
The newly purchased farms in Costa Rica and Guatemala will study hybrid coffee varieties under different growing conditions, elevations and soil conditions.
Other technologies will be explored at the new Starbucks-owned coffee farms, including mechanization and drones.
“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,” said Starbucks Vice President Roberto Vega in a statement.
Starbucks buys 3% of the world’s coffee, using only Arabica coffee beans.
The company said climate change-related changes like rising temperatures, drought, coffee leaf rust disease and others are having impacts on coffee availability, quality and taste.
At Hacienda Alsacia, Starbucks said, the company is working to mitigate climate change impacts.
And with future plans to buy coffee farms in Africa and Asia Starbucks said it will “have a coffee innovation network spanning the three main growing regions of the “Coffee Belt” – Latin America, Africa, and Asia Pacific – and be equipped to study the varied cultures, landscapes and growing methods that all contribute to coffee flavor.”
In April Starbucks chose Brian Niccol as the next company CEO and chairman of the board, citing a track record of driving innovation and growth.
