The U.N. conference was held in Costa Rica and brought together policymakers from across Central America to discuss sustainable ways to keep coffee rust, or roya, at bay.

A new smart phone app could help warn coffee farmers in Costa Rica about an impending outbreak of the fungus roya, or other pests. Developed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Satcafe crowdsources information from farmers across Central America to help avoid another region-wide coffee plague.

The Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFÉ) on Tuesday said current estimates indicate the 2014-2015 coffee harvest will be better than the previous season, due mostly to the implementation of better agricultural practices and actions to control rust fungus.

Central American countries have spent years battling the crippling coffee fungus known as roya or leaf rust. Now the U.S. Agency for International Development has decided to get involved in fighting the epidemic.

Six months after President Laura Chinchilla’s government proposed ₡20 billion — roughly $40 million — in aid to Costa Rica’s struggling coffee farmers, the Comptroller General’s Office approved the project, according to a statement last Friday.

Coffee experts hope the new variety from Brazil will diversify farmers' plantations to fend off the fungus and improve yields.