Posted by Manager, Author at TalkAfrique

November 24, 2010January 2, 2011

Today’s black women don’t see love in colors

For many black women in America, finding love has become a serious issue.

Census data show that roughly 40 percent of black adult women in the U.S. have never been married. That’s nearly twice the percentage of white women.

One entrepreneur in Los Angeles is fighting the odds. Her mission: move black women from no man’s land to a diverse dating world.

Black Girl’s Guide To Interracial Dating

Fleace Weaver, an L.A. socialite and the organizer of "Free Your Mind: The Black Girls Guide to Interracial Dating.

More than 100 black women pack a small Italian restaurant near West Los Angeles. It’s standing-room only. They’re not there for the food; they’re there for a seminar called "Free Your Mind: The Black Girl’s Guide to Interracial Dating."

There’s no reason for us to believe we have to be alone. The only thing that’s keeping us from finding someone is that we limit ourselves.

Fleace Weaver, an L.A. socialite and the organizer of the night’s event, got the idea after noticing that many of her black friends had it all — a career, house, independence — but no man.

Weaver is black. She dates men of all colors — black, white, brown — and wants more black women to do the same. "I am an international lover. All right; I am an equal opportunity lover," Weaver says. "That means I love who is good to me. I don’t want anybody just because they’re a certain color."

Some black professional women say it’s harder to find a black man at their same education and income level. You can see the trend on college campuses. According to the Department of Education, in the fall of 2007, 64 percent of black students enrolled in college were women.

But Weaver argues that Mr. Right doesn’t have to be Mr. Black. "There’s no reason for us to believe we have to be alone. The only thing that’s keeping us from finding someone is that we limit ourselves," Weaver says.

Crossing Racial Lines For Love

Interracial dating is a sensitive issue in the black community. Blacks have a brutal history with race relations; some blacks see dating outside the race as betraying the culture.

Still, more black men are thinking outside the box. According to research from Stanford University, black men are nearly three times more likely than black women to marry interracially.

If black women are set on "black love only," Weaver says they may be passing up good men. "Some of you all out here have gotten some signals, and you all missed them. Or you got signals, and you all blew him off because he wasn’t chocolate," Weaver says. "But we’ve got to get over that — unless you want to be home with chocolate cats."

Let’s Talk Men

A dozen nonblack men — all of whom date or are married to black women — speak on a panel. They answer questions about crossing the color line. For instance: How do you know if a nonblack guy likes black women?

"If a white guy, Asian guy or Mexican guy — whatever race, irrelevant — likes you and he has skills, then he’s going to ask you out, just like a black man would. If you’re in a social setting and a man comes up to you, he’s interested. That’s it," says panelist Francisco Dao.

The panel also touches on that other sensitive topic for black women: hair. Are other men OK with the various textures and styles of black women’s hair? The entire panel agrees: short, long, straight or kinky, it doesn’t matter.

Christopher Rawley is white and is married to a black woman. After his wife burned herself with a curling iron, he told her: "Don’t do this because of what you think I want you to be like. Be you. And you’re beautiful natural. You’re beautiful however you want to feel," Rawley says.

Weaver also invited a few black men to speak to show that they support this cause — that the program is not to bash them. The group includes Ryeal Simms, a relationship coach who encourages his black female clients to expand their options — but to do it for the right reasons. "Because if you’re going in it thinking that if he’s not African-American, he’s going to treat me better, and I’m going to be really happy regardless, we’re all still men," Simms says.

Regardless of whom the women choose to date, Weaver hopes they leave the seminar with at least one thought.

"Dating is just dating. Men are just men. You know, it’s all the same at the end of the day," Weaver says.

(Source, NPR)

November 23, 2010January 24, 2011

Never mind the volatility, feel the vitality

These are hardly easy markets: there are good reasons why they are underexplored. Mexico is wracked by a drug war. Saudi Arabia is a closed society. Frontier markets are by their very nature unpredictable—prey to the wiles of dictators and the whims of nature. But they present numerous things that are irresistible to the West’s growth-starved companies. They offer huge opportunities for investment in infrastructure. General Electric wants to provide Africa with the machinery that it needs to grow: any young GE-er who wants a chance to rise to the top has to spend some time working in Africa. IBM wants to provide the computing power.

Africa contains a disproportionate share of the world’s mineral wealth at a time when mineral prices are soaring. It also contains a disproportionate share of the world’s young people at a time when the West faces a demographic squeeze: by 2040 it will be home to one in five of them. Many local stockmarkets are booming: Egypt’s market produced annual returns of 39% between 2000 and 2008, in a period when the average return was 2%. True, this growth is volatile. But in 2011 an increasing number of companies, looking at the West’s flat markets, will decide that volatility is at least a sign of life.

Above all, the overlooked and frontier markets offer businesses a chance to get in on the ground floor. Companies that move first will enjoy lots of advantages. They will be able to forge deals with aggressive young companies: companies such as Angola’s Banco Africano de Investimentos, which is expanding in Europe and Brazil, and Egypt’s Orascom Telecom, which is expanding across the Middle East and beyond. They will be able to strike infrastructure deals with local governments. And they can shape the tastes of future consumers.

Companies that succeed in these neglected emerging markets are not only putting down roots in the world’s most fertile soil. They are giving themselves a chance to establish business habits for years to come.

Adrian Wooldridge The Economist (from the The emerging emerging markets)

November 21, 2010November 21, 2010

Journey to Canada, a Refugee’s Story

Twenty-three years ago, Madut Majok arrived in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, where his life consisted of guarded compounds and food rations. Today, he is a Canadian citizen, university graduate and civil servant.

He relishes the opportunities he has earned in his adopted country and feels that he has integrated into Canadian society. However, one minor detail still puzzles him. With a smile, he says “I still do not understand the level of politeness here—if I am at the mall and I step on someone’s toes, they say sorry instead of me saying that…and that always takes me off guard.” Social intricacies aside, the future is wide open for Madut—a future that seemed impossible only a few years ago.

Born in 1978 in rural South Sudan, Madut had a childhood plagued by violence and war. By 1983, the second Sudanese civil war had broken out and many villages were burned down, crops destroyed and cattle killed. Thousands of villagers from Madut’s town were forced to flee when the attacks intensified in 1987.

His family chose to seek protection within Sudan in the garrison town of Wau. In the ensuing chaos, eight‑year‑old Madut became separated from them and had to join a small group of villagers on the dangerous two month trek to Ethiopia.

He arrived at a United Nations refugee camp, located near the border, very ill from infected wounds sustained along the way. After a three-month recovery, Madut was transferred to another camp specifically for children and unaccompanied minors, where he stayed until 1991.

When war broke out in Ethiopia, those in the refugee camps were told that they were no longer safe. Madut had to flee again—a journey that took him to Pochalla, a town near the Sudan-Ethiopia border. He spent nine months there before embarking on another journey that finally brought him to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya in 1992, where he spent his next 10 years.

“Conditions at the camps were difficult at times,” says Madhut. Food was distributed every two weeks but lasted only eight days; many would go for days without getting enough water to cater for essential needs.

School, set up in the camp, saved him. “Had I not gone to school in the camp,” says Madut, “I never would have competed in the Student Refugee Program.”

Madut focused on his studies, knowing that education could be a way out of the refugee camp. He applied to the Student Refugee Program run by World University Service of Canada in 2001 and was selected to attend Dalhousie University.

In 2006, after four years in Canada, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in International Development Studies and Political Science. That same year, he became a Canadian citizen. Today, Madut is studying for his Master’s degree while working for the Foreign Credential Referral Office at Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

“After living on handouts, the ability to provide for yourself and the freedom to determine your own future is the first goal,” he says. As for his future, Madut says he has many goals. “Now that I have a job, I want to raise a family…and progress in my career. I would say that I am very lucky.”

“You need strong mentorship—people who believe in your ability and, at the same time, who realize that you are learning how your potential can be developed. Canada has given me this.”

November 21, 2010January 24, 2011

Late, but not too late, for Sudan

George Clooney and John Prendergast

George Clooney is an actor and co-founder of the NGO Not On Our Watch. John Prendergast is co-founder of the Enough Project and co-author of The Enough Moment: The Fight to End Human Rights Crimes in Africa

Well, we’re in it now. What we do best. Diplomacy. The White House has dispatched Senator John Kerry to Sudan with a proposal for peace between the North and South. It’s a giant step toward avoiding the kind of bloodshed that killed more than two million people in Sudan’s previous 20-year North-South civil war, which ended only in 2005 — and is threatening to erupt once again.

In recent months, President Barack Obama has stepped up his own involvement and that of senior figures in his administration in support of a peace strategy for Sudan. On his behalf, Kerry has delivered a package of proposals designed to break the logjam that has brought the North and South to a dangerous crossroads.

We have written a memo that spells out some of the essential elements of what a grand bargain for peace in Sudan could look like. If you’re interested in the specifics of a possible peace deal — and in actions that you can take to support it — go to SudanActionNow.org.

There is little time to waste. On January 9, 2011, the people of Southern Sudan will vote for independence from the North, taking with them up to three-quarters of the country’s known oil reserves and placing millions of civilians in the direct path of war.

The government in Khartoum (the capital in the North) is led by Omar al-Bashir, whose accomplishments, which include overseeing war crimes during the previous North-South war and engineering the atrocities in Darfur, have brought him arrest warrants for war crimes and genocide from the International Criminal Court.

And yet renewed war in Sudan is not inevitable. A complex but workable peace can be brokered if all interested parties become more deeply involved. The current moment requires robust diplomacy — the kind that can leave a bad taste in your mouth, but that gets the job done. We believe that Kerry is a skilled emissary and can help the parties find the compromises necessary for peace.

Any agreement preventing a return to war would necessarily involve the National Congress Party, representing the North, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, representing the South. But it would also involve the United States, whose post-referendum relationship with the two parties will have enormous influence over whether a deal gets done.

We believe that a grand bargain to lay the foundation for lasting peace between the North and South would oblige the parties to:

Hold the Southern Sudan referendum on time and fully respect and implement the results;
Reach a mutually satisfactory agreement concerning the territory of Abyei, a key disputed border area;
Craft a multi-year revenue-sharing arrangement in which the oil wealth of Abyei and key border areas could be divided equitably between the North and South, with a small percentage going to the Arab Misseriya border populations for development purposes;
Demarcate the uncontested 80% of the border and refer the remaining 20% to binding international arbitration;
Create serious protections for minority groups, with consideration of joint citizenship for certain populations, backed by significant international consequences for attacks on southerners in the North or northerners in the South.

The US role as the invisible third party to the agreement involves a series of incentives offered to the regime in Khartoum to ensure agreement and implementation of a peace deal. In exchange for action on the North-South and Darfur peace efforts, the US would implement a clear, sequenced, and binding path to normalization of relations.

This would involve — in order — removal of Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list, exchange of ambassadors, lifting of unilateral sanctions, and support for bilateral and multilateral debt relief, together with other economic measures by international financial institutions. Conversely, the US must be prepared to lead international efforts to impose severe consequences on any party that plunges the country back into war.

Peace and security in Darfur should be an essential benchmark for normalized relations between the US and Sudan. The Obama administration should hold firm on this through the coming rounds of negotiation, and should appoint a senior official to help coordinate US policy on Darfur in order to ensure that peace efforts there receive the same level of attention as the North-South efforts.

What is needed now is political will — and not only in the US — to sustain this diplomacy. The European Union and Sudan’s neighbors — in particular Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda — will also need to play a robust role. And China’s diplomacy in Sudan, where it has invested massively in developing the country’s oil resources, will be a test of whether or not it intends to be a responsible stakeholder in Africa and the wider world.

Ensuring that governments work toward peace is where you come in. Keep the pressure on them. Support the peace process. Your voice can prevent a war. Not guns. Not money. Just our voices.

The way to peace in Sudan is not simple, but it is achievable. There are hard choices to be made. We can make those choices now, or we can persuade ourselves that peace is too hard or too complex, and then look on resignedly from the sidelines as hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children needlessly die. It’s up to us.

November 21, 2010November 21, 2010

Would you rather marry a virgin? An African perpective

GIDEON OPARINDE (odili.net)

(views expressed are those of the responders and not necessarily of TalkAfrique)

In the past, it was expected that a maiden must go into marriage as a virgin. If on the first night, her husband found her not to be so, the family suffered instant condemnation.

But civilization has substantially changed the way people perceive virginity. At one time, it was even thought to be ‘bush’ if a girl dared reveal to her peers that she was still a virgin. Some girls even competed to be the first to lose their virginity to a boyfriend.

Once again, attitudes are changing, and it is becoming fashionable to be a virgin. This new development is driven more by the Pentecostal revival spreading through the world. Virginity, at least among Pentecostal Christians and fundamentalist Muslims, is being appreciated again.

Being a virgin is good, these people argue, saying that it is a key factor to whether there would be deep trust between the couple. However, there are women who were married as virgins but are now worse than whores. But then, the issue of virginity is like a two-sided coin as it also applies to men who go into marriage without having ever had sex with a woman. For women who marry such men, and considering the realities of the present time, when women have become bolder and assertive, they expect to be sexually satisfied by their husbands. So would you, whether as a man or lady prefer marrying a virgin?

Edna

Marrying a female virgin is an advantage to a man because you will know she has never been touched by any man and she is free from sexually transmitted diseases, but the other part is that when you have let her loose and she happens to have funny friends, they might talk her into testing the waters, except she is a true child of God.

Afolabi

I really would love marry a virgin, but looking at the percentage of people who are lucky enough to have virgins today, they are very few. A number of men today would not want to marry any lady without having an affair with her. When a man marries a woman who is not a virgin and he is not the first man in her life, it becomes a stigma on her. But men cause most of theses things.

Definitely, not all deflowered ladies are irresponsible, some could be victims of circumstance like rape, sweet coated men who may have promised them marriage, but determined to exploit her first. Should she not get married again?

How many women today got married as virgins? The same applies to men.

I believe if there is virginity test for men, many ladies/ women too would not want to marry an experienced man due to fear of sexually transmitted diseases. But the point is that hardly would you find a man that would satisfy an experienced lady in bed and you would hardly have rest of mind that she is still faithful to you alone.

Samuel

Yes I would like to marry a virgin because a virgin has a higher tendency to be faithful. But it is important to note that when a man marries a virgin, the lady may be tempted to stray outside to see what she missed out during her youthful days. If a man marries a woman as a virgin, it might turn out a problem to the man because of lack of experience and not knowing what to do or expect. Living in complete control of her sexuality, she might not like it but she got no choice since she is new in the game.

Ola

I would like to marry a virgin presuming that she has second hand experience on the bedmatics of sex and how to handle her man in bed. These days, virgins are hard to come by and even if there are, a large percentage of them are light years behind their peers when it comes to knowledge on the dynamics of sex.

As for me, when it comes to the issue of marriage, the most important thing is the question of sexual satisfaction. I can’t imagine my newly wedded wife on the wedding night lying down like a log of wood in bed, awaiting the long old missionary style position. Kai…what an anachronism!

There is nothing wrong in a grown-up lady getting to learn how to satisfy her man in bed whilst she is still a virgin. Some religious women feel it is wrong or immoral to explore the wonders of sex and are in themselves unattractive and anti-sexy in nature due to their mind-set. A lot of Nigerian women out there have joined the league of ladies who have thrown their ‘husbands’ away in the guise of Christian beliefs and dignity.

I can never be attracted to a woman who dresses like her grandmother no matter how anointed she is: my woman must be hot, sexy, affable and must be vast in the things that make for life and good relationships. Even the Bible says in Proverbs 5:19 that let her breasts satisfy you at all times, meaning the man is entitled to full enjoyment of his spouse in all ramifications and it is to a large extent the onus of the woman to see to the satisfaction of her man even before marriage.

The chances are that marrying a virgin might make one a victim of unsatisfactory sex life up to certain number of months or years into the marriage depending on the willingness of the woman to learn but the friction from tightness due to the novelty of the ‘wentus’ gives the man some great initial pleasure even though the woman may lack the necessary bedmatic skills.

But frankly speaking, the advantages of marrying a virgin are not far-fetched: protection from venereal diseases as long as the virgin wife remains faithful to the man and the sense of pride being gained by the man for being the one that tore open the honey well of the virgin wife.

Aderibigbe

No, I would not want to marry one because marrying a virgin today can turn into marrying of a slack hole sort. Somebody that has not tasted how sweet sex is. Now you are enjoying it from one man called your husband. If that man is not good enough to satisfy her sexual needs, she may like to change her taste by giving another man a try. In this case she may not have had the experience to handle the situation and it may lead to a break-up. In this case, marrying a sexually experienced lady will be better because they have all it takes to be a married woman.

Omole

Yes, I would love to marry a virgin, likewise every man’s desire, but let us ask ourselves too as men; how many of us are virgins? What I am looking for is not virginity but a Godsent that would add positive values to my life; a woman of great substance, a virtuous woman. I am not interested in virginity but reliability.

Why do we capitalize on women alone, let’s clear ourselves first before others, most time we are the cause of their predicaments.

Dare

Definitely yes! A virgin is an innocent female that has not been spoilt and have a sense of responsibility. Besides that, I learnt when a lady loses her virginity to someone who jilted her, she goes weird and becomes derailed. I never had the opportunity of being engaged to a virgin. If I had, I would not have allowed her elude me.

Funke

No, I won’t like to marry any guy who is a virgin. You could hardly find about 10 percent of men who are virgins. The only advantage is that he would be well informed with loads of experiences. The disadvantage is that he could be unfaithful.

Yomi

If I have my way, I would marry a virgin, but sometimes virginity has nothing to do with how cultured a lady is; rather it is just a sign of being able to vouch for her. Many virgins are worse than even those we see and tag wayward. The most important thing is marrying a God-fearing lady.

November 20, 2010January 2, 2011

Africa can reach development targets if given a push-Migiro

Africa, with its immense human and material wealth, can achieve the globally agreed development targets world leaders have pledged to achieve by 2015, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told United Nations agencies working on the continent, while also stressing the need for strong support from the international community.

“The continent’s people need neither pity nor charity, but rather the tools, institutions, stability and freedoms to create incomes and jobs,” Ms. Migiro stated in her remarks to the Regional Coordination Mechanism meeting held yesterday in Addis Ababa.

“International solidarity and a level playing field – especially in global trade – will go a long way toward helping the continent realize its noble objectives for its people, its prosperity and its stability,” she told the meeting, which seeks to ensure that various UN departments and agencies work more effectively together in the region.

She noted that the broad impacts of climate change and the multiple crises, including those related to finance, food and energy, continue to hamper development efforts in Africa and threaten to scale back hard-won development gains.

In spite of these challenging trends, Africa’s economic performance rebounded and has remained steadfast, with growth projected to be 4.8 per cent in 2010, driven mainly by recovery in mineral exports, official development assistance (ODA) inflows, strong government expenditure on infrastructure development, and remittances.

In September, world leaders meeting in New York noted the remarkable achievements that have been made, especially in terms of reducing poverty and expanding education and access to clean water, just some of the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

They sent a clear message, said Ms. Migiro: “If we step up our efforts, the MDGs remain achievable by 2015, including in the least developed countries.

“However, the Summit also stressed that more concerted efforts are needed, particularly in Africa,” she pointed out, adding that the September summit’s outcome document set out some of the key challenges.

These include addressing climate change, reducing inequalities, advancing the well-being of vulnerable groups, and continuing to implement the global action plan for the least developed countries (LDCs), 33 of which are in Africa.

Addis Ababa is the last stop on the Deputy Secretary-General’s current three-nation trip, which also included visits to Lebanon and Laos.

(UN Release)

November 16, 2010January 2, 2011

Reducing trauma in HIV orphans

When a child loses a parent to HIV/AIDS, grief counselling helps with the trauma of loss, but when the child is both poor and orphaned, the chances of a fulfilling life are significantly diminished.

Studies have found high levels of psychological distress among such orphans, and suggest interventions to improve their mental wellbeing. Here are some ways to minimize trauma among these children:

Keep them in the family

Most African orphans remain with their extended families, being cared for by either the remaining parent, grandparents or other relatives. Studies show that staying with family is best for children; institutional care should only be a temporary solution or last resort.

Keeping brothers and sisters together also enhances their emotional wellbeing; a 1998 Zambian study found increased emotional distress after sibling separation.

In addition, it appears that remaining with closer relatives rather than more distant ones is also better for orphans. A 2003 study in the district of Rakai, central Uganda, found that the more distant the relative, the lower the chances of child survival.

Meet their basic needs

Few African parents leave wills, and property grabbing is common when adults die; in a Ugandan survey, 21 percent of orphans aged 13-18 reported property grabbing. The phenomenon undermines the livelihood of families already weakened by the death of parents.

In addition, families who take in orphaned children are often poor themselves; additional mouths to feed often stretch limited resources to breaking point. These families may need economic support to a larger number of dependents.

A 2008 study suggested that programmes such as school-feeding schemes, sustainable food and gardening projects, employment initiatives and targeted assistance for grant applications could have positive mental health impacts on AIDS-orphaned children.

Provide psycho-social care

Dealing with the loss of a parent is tough enough, but watching a parent die, adjusting to a new family and dealing with stigma and a much worse economic position make counselling all the more important. A 2002 study in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, found that orphans were significantly more likely than non-orphans to internalize their problems, jeopardizing their long-term mental health.

Grief counselling is important, notably for younger children who do not yet fully grasp the concept of death. Orphans may also need more life-skills training, particularly if they are not living in traditional family set-ups and have little chance of learning, for instance, gender roles and how to make the transition from childhood to adulthood. Peer support groups can be especially helpful in allowing orphans to share their feelings with people who may be going through similar situations.

Keep them in school

School drop-out rates tend to be higher among orphaned children; they often quit school to care for sick parents and never make it back into the education system. A 2004 Princeton University study of 10 sub-Saharan African countries found that orphans were at significant risk for lower school enrolment.

"When these orphans are not in school something happens, they refuse to think, but once they get back in school they regain focus on their lives," she told IRIN/PlusNews. "The difference between the child on the first day of farm school and one term later is amazing – they begin to look like any other child."

Free primary education has gone some way to improving overall school attendance, but other factors, such as living with a non-relative, continue to hamper orphans' education.

School-based peer support groups have also been shown to reduce psychological distress of orphaned younger children and teenagers.

Caring for the carers

Families taking in orphans face challenges too – a new household structure, additional expenses and the responsibility of caring for psychologically distressed children.

Custodial families may need counselling themselves to adequately respond to the emotional needs of orphans.

Surviving grandparents often step into the role of parent when their children die from AIDS-related causes. A Ugandan study found that custodial grandparents experienced extreme economic deprivation, felt physically challenged with care-giving and emotionally stretched by concerns for the children under their care.

According to a 2009 South African study, families caring for orphans are not receiving the support they need; the authors found a lack of assistance from social support services and family. They recommended that health workers and home-based caregivers be trained to support orphans' caregivers.

Authors of the Ugandan study recommended that grandparents be offered "respite care, child care, parenting support, support groups and skills development and recreational opportunities for the grandchildren".

(A UN Study/IRIN)

November 15, 2010January 6, 2011

Cocoa genome ‘will save chocolate industry’

Yusif Aban

The public release of the genome of the cacao tree – from which chocolate is made – will save the chocolate industry from collapse, a scientist has said.

Howard Yana-Shapiro, a researcher for Mars, said that without engineering higher-yielding cacao trees, demand would outstrip supply within 50 years.

Dr Yana-Shapiro said such strains will also help biodiversity and farmers’ welfare in cacao-growing regions.

The genome’s availability will likely lead to healthier, tastier chocolate.

The sequencing of the genome was an international, multidisciplinary effort between firms including Mars and IBM, the US department of agriculture and a number of universities, and was announced in September.

Dr Shapiro, once described as a “biodiversifarian”, was speaking at an event at IBM’s research labs in Zurich when he called the date the genome was released “the greatest day of my life”.

“In late 2007, it became very apparent to me that we would not have a continuous supply of cocoa going into the future if we did not intervene on a massive scale to secure our supply chain.”

“Cote d’Ivoire is the largest producer of cocoa in the world,” Dr Shapiro continued. “Mars has bought cocoa from there for sixty years – but when we started to understand the environmental and ecological conditions, the productivity, sociocultural and economic conditions, I realised this was a moment of crisis for this region.”

What is at issue is both the inherent yield of varying strains of the Theobroma cacao tree, which on average currently produce 400 kilograms per hectare of land. What is needed is to make more cocoa from fewer trees and less land.

“In 10 years, under a 2% increase in consumption we will need (an area corresponding to) another Cote d’Ivoire. There is no more place to grow it, productivity with less land must be our driver.”

The genetic codes of major global staple crops such as rice and wheat have been decoded, with a view to improving yields or nutritive properties. However, those crops are grown principally on large, industrial farms.

Cocoa, by comparison, is grown for the most part on small farms by individual farmers and sold on in a less centralised market.

Disease and drought

For that reason, Dr Shapiro said, increases to yields or the cocoa butter and fat content – for which cocoa farmers are actually paid – could directly affect the lives of some 6.5 million small farmers around the globe.

Under his direction, the consortium sequenced the Theobroma cacao genome in a remarkably short time, finishing three years ahead of schedule.

The whole of the genome was first published, as Dr Shapiro puts it, “in the public domain and protected from patenting for perpetuity – so everyone would have free and continued access to it”.

Now correlations between certain characteristics – such as disease and drought resistance or higher proportions of healthier fats – can be made in the field with the benefit of relatively inexpensive laboratory equipment. In this way, each region ensures it has strains that will produce the most, and the best, cocoa.

There are a number of other characteristics that, in time, may be maximised on a genetic basis – such as the level of chemicals known as flavinols, which have been implicated in laboratory tests of heart health.

‘Ecological stability’

“Soon it will be the norm as opposed to the exception: healthy fats, high levels of flavinols, so that chocolate will actually become something quite different. Whether that’s 10, 15 20 years away, it’s on that track now.”

Higher yields will free up land for other under-utilised crops in the region such as yams, sorghum and plantains. Dr Shapiro sees such small changes – that a chocolate consumer never sees – as a tangible human benefit of science-driven agriculture.

“It gives you social stability in the rural sector, it gives you cultural stability that doesn’t break up the rural sector, it gives you environmental stabilty because we’re reducing the risk to the environment from agricultural chemistry, it gives you ecological stability because we’re protecting the remnant forest, it also sequesters carbon,” he said.

“This is the really ‘Green Revolution’ of understanding the entire ecosystem from which you are working.”

By Jason Palmer, Science and technology reporter, BBC News, Zurich