If there’s one thing that can send a shiver of fear down a coffee producer’s back, it’s la roya or coffee leaf rust. This disease has the ability to destroy crops, decimating production levels and wreaking havoc with farmers’ income (not to mention global coffee prices).

Its symptoms begin with yellow spots on the leaves, which soon become a rusty orange. Eventually the leaves drop and then the trees die.

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But what actually is it? And what impact does it have on the farming community? This video provides the answers to these questions, and more:

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One of the reasons why this fungus is so damaging to farmers is that it doesn’t just ruin their crops – it also ruins their reputation.

More and more coffee buyers and roasters avoid purchasing beans from areas known to suffer from coffee rust, meaning that producers struggle to sell their beans even if they are healthy and of a good quality.

Yet this problem can’t be ignored in this way, because coffee leaf rust is spreading. Find out why all of us should be concerned about this disease in the video below:

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Feature Photo Credit: Carvalho et al.

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