The fate of the world's chocolate depends on this spot in rural England

Now imagine that a farm in Ghana produces a super-plant, with pods that contain twice as many beans as a normal cocoa tree. Every chocolate producer in the world would want a cutting. But, if those cuttings contained a fungus or pest currently found only in Ghana, the entire chocolate industry could come crashing down.

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That’s where the International Quarantine Centre in rural England comes in.

“We have to check the plants very carefully during the first few days they’re here to make sure that we’ve not imported any insects,” Daymond says.

He wanders through the neat rows of cocoa trees, flypaper hanging overhead to make sure nothing unexpected buzzes around the greenhouses.

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