$23 million promised to help fight coffee-tree disease

A coalition that includes the U.S. Agency for International Development and Starbucks Corp. launched a $23 million fund to help Latin America farmers fight coffee rust.

The move is part of a growing international effort to combat coffee rust’s devastating impact on Central and South America’s coffee farms, where some of the world’s best beans are grown. Concern is rising in the coffee industry about the potential impact coffee rust may have on the long-term supply of quality arabica, the mild-tasting bean used to brew specialty coffee.