According to "Today Russia" TV News Network on June 3, Howard Yana Shapiro, the head of agriculture at Mars Foods in the United States, has made a breakthrough by successfully decoding the cocoa genome. He now aims to use this knowledge to address food insecurity in Africa, particularly in regions suffering from chronic hunger.
Shapiro is working on a global initiative that involves collaboration with scientists from both China and the U.S. The goal is to develop more resilient and high-yield crops that can help African farmers improve their livelihoods. This project is still in its early stages, but preliminary research on the cocoa gene has already shown promising results.
The decoding of the cocoa gene map has already benefited approximately 6.5 million smallholder farms worldwide, saving them between $700 million and $800 million annually. This has significantly boosted their economic stability. Major investments have come from companies like Mars, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and IBM, with around $10 million allocated to the project so far.
In addition to cocoa, researchers plan to study the genetic maps of other essential crops such as yams, glutinous rice, peanuts, cassava, and sweet potatoes. By combining traditional plant breeding techniques with modern biotechnology—like genetic tagging—scientists hope to create more robust and productive crop varieties.
Shapiro emphasized that the findings from this research will not be patented, ensuring that they are freely available for use by farmers and researchers worldwide. This open-access approach is expected to accelerate the adoption of improved crop varieties in developing regions.
At the end of the report, it was noted that Shapiro is deeply concerned about the situation in Africa, where 30% of children suffer from malnutrition, which hinders their normal development. To tackle this issue, he plans to establish a new crop research institute in Nairobi, Kenya, to support long-term agricultural development and food security in the region.
(Internship Compilation: Yan Xiao | Reviewer: Yan Wenqi)
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