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Coffee leaf rust continues to affect Central American coffee. In February, World Coffee Research, along with other influ- ential coffee researchers, governmental agencies, and individuals associated with coffee at administrative agencies, gathered in Guatemala for the second Coffee Leaf Rust Summit/Cumbre de Roya (hosted by Anacafe) to discuss the impact the epi- demic has had on the region. In 2015, due to a prolonged dry sea- son, incidence was lower, and rust had less of an effect on yield, but many Central American farmers are still struggling to recover from the devastating outbreak that began in 2012. Nearly 400,000 jobs have been lost since the rust crisis began. Since 2013, WCR, based in College Station, Texas, has been working to mon- itor, control and prevent rust throughout Central America through a USD $5 mil- lion partnership with USAID. In 2014, WCR and USAID established a USD $5 million partnership to fund a program to monitor, control, and prevent rust in throughout Central America. The project, led by WCR and PROMECAFE with contributions from Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), French agricultural research and international cooperation CIRAD, and private industry, has made progress on multiple fronts. Below are seven things WCR is doing to combat coffee leaf rust: 1. WCR is actively working to create new varieties of Arabica coffee that are resistant to or tolerant of leaf rust, but higher qual- ity than the last generation of rust-resistant varieties (commonly known as Catimors and Sarchimors). In 2015, it completed 50 experimental hybrid crosses and will evaluate the plants over the next five years for their rust resistance, cup quality, and other agronomic traits. Using advanced technology, WCR aims to bring successful varieties to farmer fields in a fraction of the time it used to breeding programs to release new material. "The plants will be tested at two farms in Costa Rica and one farm in El Salvador," said David Laughlin, WCR rust projects director, who is based in Guatemala. "In these cases, we already have collaborative agreements set up with the farms. They are reliable, and they rep- resent a good diversity of environments that will allow us to evaluate different characteristics in different environments." 2. This year, WCR will be releasing the first-ever regional catalog of coffee vari- eties for Central America with up-to-date information about varieties, including their rust tolerance, to help farmers make more informed decisions about which varieties are best for their farming style, altitude and location. 3. In collaboration with CATIE, the orga- nization is developing a farmer's manual that outlines best practices for managing coffee leaf rust. 4. WCR initiated a three-year project to provide farmers badly affected by cof- fee leaf rust with rust-resistant coffee plant seedlings on three cooperatives in Yepocapa, Guatemala. The farms will also be the site of a socioeconomic study exploring the impact of improved varieties on farm profitability. The project is fund- ed by the Starbucks Foundation. 5. WCR is conducting a study to identify biological organisms that may protect cof- fee from coffee leaf rust. In 2015, a scien- tific expedition to Kenya identified fungi that evolved alongside Arabica coffee. The fungi are being studied for their ability to control coffee rust at the University of Viçosa in Brazil. 6. In partnership with CIRAD and CATIE, WCR is conducting an experiment to understand the effect of shade type and agronomic management on rust incidence. 7. In partnership with CATIE, WCR is fine-tuning methods to efficiently mass-produce coffee-leaf-rust-resistant coffee seedlings through the use of micro- cuttings. This will serve to lower the cost of next-generation F1 hybrids and allow smaller nurseries to propagate hybrids themselves. sustaining the chain 22 Tea & Coffee Trade Journal | www.teaandcoffee.net WCR's Latest Steps to Combating Leaf Rust (Left) A farmer in Yepocapa, Guatemala assesses rust on his trees. (Right) WCR rust projects director David Laughlin addresses the audience during Cumbre de Roya. As Central American farmers struggle to recover from the worst coffee leaf rust outbreak in its history,World Coffee Research and others met in February for the second Coffee Leaf Rust Summit to discuss steps taken so far and future plans aimed at combating this problem.