Nerdy Science Blog

The chocolate company Mars will be in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture and IT firm IBM to decode the genetic structure of the cocoa tree.  The aim of this project is to improve cocoa production.  This can be done by understanding the tree’s DNA that could be manipulated to create pest- and disease resistant crop, and also withstand water shortages.  Higher quality cocoa could also be produced via the Genome project. Dr Howard-Yana Shapiro, Mars’ global director of plant science, believed that African farmers would benefit the most from this project.  The project will take five years to complete and it will be available through Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA) when the information is gathered.

(news)