Could Plant Science contribute to a Sustainable Growth 

of Specialty Coffee Industry?

Norman Borlaug Institute
October 27th 2010 

Dr Vincent Pétiard
Vpetiard@naturesourcegenetics.com
Could Plant Science contribute to a Sustainable 
Growth of Specialty Coffee Industry?
Outline

 Introduction

 The Agro Food Chain

 Challenges for the future of Tropical Commodities

 Will Agro Seed Industry take up these challenges?

 Intellectual Property Rights?

 How Could Plant Science help?

 One Example: Coffee Cup Quality

 Conclusions
 The Agro – Food Chain

Seeds

Technology Seeds, Crop Primary Secondary

Growers Retail Consumer
Providers Protection Processing Processing

Ingredients

Up-stream innovation can be valuated without vertical integration

(Virtual Vertical Integration)

2 2005-04-11 NRC/QS- NestléResearch Center

 The Agro – Food Chain

Down-Stream Stakeholders were currently not Interested

in Up-Stream Stages of the Agro-Food Chain
but today:

They are increasingly concerned by sustainability for:

 Securing the supply of safe and affordable raw materials,

 Corporate Social Responsability,
 Image and PR issues
SAI Platform member companies
Campina
Consortio Int. 
Ortofruticoli
Danisco
Dole
Ecom
Efico
Findus
Fonterra
Friesland Foods
Groupe Danone
Kraft
McCain Europe
McDonald’s
Nestlé
Neumann Kaffee
Gruppe
Sara Lee
Tchibo
Unilever
Volcafe
 Challenge of Meeting the World Food Demand

Food requirement
World population
Long-term growth Arable land per capita

 Global calorie
consumption to 0.45
double by 2025 ha

– Population increase 0.32

ha 0.27 ha
– Calorie intake
increase 0.21
 Arable land constant ha

 Improved yield
required to meet
demand

1960 1980 1995 2025E

Source: Syngenta based on FAO statistics, World Bank
 What Challenges For Tropical Commodities?

 Market demand is increasing especially for premium specialty

products

Production is increasingly competing with food and  non­food
commodities (e.g. biofuel)

Public institutions are increasingly less devoting to the R&D of 
perennial tropical cash crops

No significant private sector devoted to the genetic of  perennial,
tropical cash  crops
 What Challenges For Tropical Commodities?

 Without continuous genetic improvement, farmers will be less
inclined to continue planting traditional tropical cash crops

 Without significant investment in new genetic resources, it will be
impossible to respond rapidly to new production pressures (e.g.
new diseases/insects)
HOWEVER

Improving yield of tropical crops would decrease pressure on land
and water resources permitting society to meet other demands

Highest value in leveraging with crop protection in tropical
countries might bring seed industry in tropical business 
Coffee profitability is strongly challenged by other crops

Coffee Palm oil Rubber

Yield (kg/ha) 750 17100 1770
Cost of production/kg (Bath) 32.9 1.5 20.4
Cost of production/ha (Bath) 24700 26500 36150
Price/kg (Bath) 47.0 2.8 53.6
Income/ha (Bath) 35250 47280 94750
Profit/ha (Bath) 10550 20730 58600

Farmers motivation is affected by the erosion of coffee profitability

The field yield and the National production are rapidly decreasing
 Profitability comparison among para rubber, oil palm, coffee and
improved varieties of coffee in Thailand

3000

2500
Profit (USD/Ha)

2000
Rubber
1500
Oil Palm
1000 Coffee
Improved var coffee
500

0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Year
Will Agro Seed Industry Take Up these Challenges?

(An Innovation Driven Business)

Turn Over Worldwide = $ 42 000 M (2010)

- Field Crops = 90 %
- Vegetables = 10%

 R&D expenses = 12% of Turn Over = $ 5 000 M (2010)

 Look for Added Value Downstream (De-Commoditization)

 Three Key Questions:

- Would Seed Industry diversify to tropical crops?

- When? On what Crops?
- Looking for what IP and Added Value?
IP for New Varieties
of Tropical Crops:

Plant Breeder Rights

 How Could Plant Science help?

 Knowledge building about quality and processing driving
factors for guiding purchasing and processing,
 Securing a Sustainable Supply (better profitability due to better
yield), 
 Development of new varieties for new products (new quality for
new products), 
 Rapid Distribution of new Varieties at an affordable Price
 Trace‐ability of raw materials
 Corporate Social Responsibility, PR, Image
 …….
 One Example: Coffee Cup Quality

To assess Genetics / Environment / Post Harvest / Processing Interactions

 One Example: Coffee Cup Quality

 Is the variety a key element for cup quality?

 Are there markers CORRELATED to cup quality characteristics?

 What are the main chemicals DETERMINING cup quality?

 Can we distribute optimal/improved varieties?

 Can we trace coffee variety/origin up to the shelf?

 Is the variety a key element for cup quality?
COFFEE CATALOGUE COLLECTION

Producing Selection of
countries Arabica & Robusta
accessions
Growing in a non Identification via
producing country DNA fingerprinting
In vitro
propagation

Updating: Introduction
of new varieties Comparative
field trials
Cryostorage

Agronomic and
Recommendation
Growers of
quality evaluation
Large scale
propagation best varieties CATALOGUE

29/10/2010 NRC/PS ‐ 16
 High source of diversity still not assessed in Ethiopian varieties
Axes 1 & 2 : 48.8 3 of the top 5
quality varieties
Ethiopian accessions are original
Ethiopian varieties

Cultivated varieties

: CCC varieties
 8.2 %

1.7
Ethiopian arabica

0.7
Cultivated group

28.7%
-1.8 -1.3 -0.8 -0.3 0.2 0.7 1.2 1.7
-0.3

-1.3

-2.3

FAO-Ethio Illababor-Ethio Jimma-Ethio Keffa-Ethio unknown-Ethio Sidamo-Ethio

Wellega-Ethio Bourbon BourbonxT ypica Catui CatimorxCatui Catimor
Introgressed Sarchimor T ypica T ypica/Bourbon Hybride de timor
 Are there markers correlated to cup quality ?

Outstanding
Robusta Varieties Arabica
6
R2 = 0,87
2
R = 0,88 17

16
5
15
Calculated value

Calculated value
14
4
13

12
3

11

10
2
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
2 3 4 value
Observed 5 6
Observed value

A ratio of Biochemicals is well correlated to cup quality but:

no cause to effect relationship;
29/10/2010 19
What are the main biochemicals determining cup quality?

Two possible approaches
Biochemicals
(Metabolomics)

2 3

2 1

3
Genetic background Sensory
(Genomics) (Processing)
1
performances

1. The genetic approach

2. The biochemistry approach

2002‐06‐03 NRC/PS/Vp2002‐19 20
 Discovery of Cup Quality Determinants
A B
0.0 M372 0.0 121876
1.7 120291 3.3 CMA259
4.0 R103 4.4 M481
5.7 CMA057
C2_At1g05385 12.1 129943
13.3 AY2429
119699 13.5
17.0 125835 124986
19.5
19.9 AJ871895
24.5 R264
28.9 123682
30.9 126730
30.2 C2_At3g10670
36.1 M354
35.6 123391
38.8 AY220271

Sensory
38.6 120517
39.7 CMA108
39.1 CMA293
41.4 R168
42.1 122261
42.8 CMA276
42.7 123909
45.1 M497
45.3 130612
47.7 A8834
46.7 131806
48.9 CMA061
48.2 M329
55.6 C2_At5g20890 50.3 BAC_DK46CO2_37
58.6 M464 56.6 123669
61.2 130353 64.8 CMA147
63.4 C2_At5g22620 65.6 M371
66.4 129431 70.0 126250
75.0 CMA068 71.1 129972
77.8 R240 73.0 CMA239
85.4 M428 80.5 120206
87.4 122665 84.3 C2_At2g21290
88.7 124158B 84.8 M431
89.3 124160 88.0 120074
90.2 CMA271 89.4 CMA002
94.7 121086 91.5 CMA270
97.7 CFGA054 95.2 123903
99.7 R216 96.5 120823
102.1
104.8
106.0
123888
126661
AY2462
98.8
104.5
106.3
CMA265
122680
131684
Biochemical QTLs are matching with sensory QTL’s
107.4 123238 107.1 C2_At5g49820
109.0
111.5
112.2
A8792
120037
R336
108.3
108.9
113.8
M327
M472
122056
on linkage group B.
116.1 M364 114.8 AY2464
116.3 CMA010 116.0 124278
116.9 121491 119.1 CMA298
119.6 R26 122.1 M508
120.4 123332
121.5 122764 133.4 AY2455
122.6 C2_At4g01880 133.9 M509
131.8 A8793

142.0 R14

151.0 AY2462
152.0 CMA267
153.2 A8783
153.3
156.7
160.5
CMA031
R34
C2_At4g21800
Comparative mapping of sensory quality and
169.2 CMA233
candidate biochemicals lead to the identification of
177.5 M449
compounds determining bitterness
186.3 124754
188.7 124612

193.6 CMA222
197.1 120227

202.5 AY2453
205.8 123557 21
210.6 M362
212.8 CMA174B
 Can we distribute optimal / improved varieties?

The Benefit of Vegetative versus Seed Propagation for most  Cross Pollinated 
Perennials 

Seed derived plantation Clonal plantation

 Robusta Propagation in Thailand 

29/10/2010 23
 Interview of Paul Bulcke, Nestlé CEO
August 27th 2010

“Under the Nescafé Plan, Nestlé will distribute 220 million high-
yield, disease-resistant coffee plantlets to farmers by 2020. This
helps farmers to rejuvenate their plantations, thus multiplying
the yield on existing land and increasing farmers’ income.

Through partnerships with public and private institutions in a

number of countries, including Mexico, Thailand, the Philippines
and Indonesia, Nestlé has already distributed over 16 million
coffee plantlets over the past ten years.”
 Can we trace coffee variety/origin up to the shelf?

A rabica SSR Database

Ristretto

Dulsão do B rasil

25
 Control Boubon V ariety
DE V E L OPM ENT O F A NE W M E T H OD

H igh resolution melting

A dulteration
Control Boubon
Bourbon V ariety Batches
reference
accepted

C ont rol Boubon V a r iety

A llo-pollination
A llo-pollination
A dulteration Batches
rejected
A dulte rAation
dulteration

26
A llo-pollination
 Conclusions

As it has been the case for other crops,

Plant Science could take up the challenges faced
by tropical commodities from Orphan Crops such as Coffee:

BUT

Who will take them up? For the profit of whom?