The chocolate company Mars has announced that it is to decode the genetic structure of the cocoa tree.

Understanding the tree’s DNA could make crop production more resistant to pests, diseases, and water shortages that may come from a warming climate.

Howard-Yana Shapiro, Mars’ global director of plant science, said African farmers stood to benefit the most as they accounted for nearly two-thirds of world cocoa production.

The research would “ultimately improve cocoa trees, yield higher quality cocoa and increase income for farmers”, he told BBC News.

Some of us have a real appetite for this kind of research. Har!