WASHINGTON (AFP) — US chocolate and sweets giant Mars is teaming up with IBM to study and map the cocoa genome in a move which could enhance the production of stronger plants, the companies said Thursday.
The firms bid to analyze the key ingredient in chocolate will also be supported by researchers at the US Department of Agriculture.
The companies said their research, which they expect to last five years, could benefit over 6.5 million farmers around the world and help sustain the planet's chocolate supply.
"Mars saw the potential this research holds to help accelerate what farmers have been doing since the beginning of time with traditional breeding, ultimately improving cocoa trees, yielding higher quality cocoa and increasing income for farmers," said Howard-Yana Shapiro, Mars's global director of plant science.
The world's biggest chocolate-maker said the research may also enable foreign farmers to plant healthier plants which have a stronger resistance to pests and disease.
Around 70 percent of the world's cocoa, which is not grown in the United States, is farmed in Africa.
Mars said it would make the results of the research freely available through the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture, which supports agricultural innovation for humanitarian and small-scale commercial projects.
If the sequencing is successful, it is hoped that scientists and farmers will be able to better identify the particular genetic traits that enable plants to produce more bountiful yields.
"We look forward to helping the agricultural community in Africa, and in other emerging markets," said IBM vice president Mark Dean.
Mars global sales exceed 22 billion dollars a year.
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