A global workshop to advance the implementation of the global conservation strategy for coffee genetic resources

In 2017, the Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust) and World Coffee Research (WCR) published the Global Conservation Strategy for Coffee Genetic Resources (Strategy). This comprehensive study set out to identify where and how coffee diversity is being maintained around the world, including the constraints and opportunities coffee genebanks face. As a follow-up to the Strategy, the Crop Trust and WCR, with support from the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS), organized a virtual four-day workshop, July 12-15, 2021. The workshop gathered key stakeholders, which included 54 participants from 16 countries, to identify ways to best conserve and use coffee genetic resources. Topics included an update of the Strategy results and related sessions dedicated to a) the global system for coffee, b) in situ and ex situ collections management, c) quality management in long-term ex situ conservation, and d) use of collections. Over the four days, discussions led to the identification of priority actions with regards to financing, policy, partnership building, quality management systems, capacity building, communication and advocacy, gaps in collections, in situ and ex situ conservation and their complementarity, safety duplication, conservation of crop wild relatives, and establishment of a global platform.