The 16-Year Problem: Why Tea Breeding Can't Keep Up with Climate Change
· 3 min read
Tea is a $50 billion global industry that sustains millions of smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa. It is part of the cultural and economic fabric of nations such as Kenya, India, and China.
Yet beneath that success lies a growing concern: the rate of genetic improvement in tea is far too slow to match the pace of environmental change.
At present, developing and releasing a new tea variety takes more than 16 years—from the first cross to farmers’ fields. Sixteen years in a rapidly changing climate is an eternity.