Rust More Aggressive in attacking Guatemala’s coffee crop

npr.org reported Francisco Anzueto, of Guatemala’s Coffee Board, , says coffee rust has been in the region a long time. But recently, it has become more aggressive.

It’s due to climate change, Anzueto says. Temperatures are up, and the fungus thrives in hot weather. It attacks the leaves of coffee trees, eventually choking off nutrients to the cherries that encase the beans. And now that it’s hotter, the rust has spread to higher altitudes, where it had rarely ventured before, and where Guatemala’s finest beans are grown.

To fight the scourge, several coffee companies, including Starbucks and Green Mountain, have teamed up with the U.S. Agency for International Development. They’ve pooled more than $23 million to offer financing to repair crops and train farmers to fight the disease. Read Article