USAID Cuts Affecting Crucial Research Into Coffee Species Resistant To Fungal Leaf Rust – CoffeeTalk

Trump’s proposed removal of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is affecting research into coffee, with the Synergistic Hawaiʻi Agriculture Council halting a $6 million USAID grant to develop coffee trees resistant to the fungal disease coffee leaf rust. The council has reached out to Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation to see if the money can be transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to resume the research. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, representing the state’s major coffee growing regions on Hawaiʻi Island, argues that cutting USAID would eliminate tens of millions of dollars that have been spent on coffee research over the last 30 years. Tokuda has started a bipartisan coffee caucus to advocate for the importance of research in supporting Hawaiʻi’s coffee industry, highlighting the potential impact of recent funding freezes and executive orders on coffee growers.

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