News Releases

Breadfruit – The Caribbean’s ‘Survival Super Food Staple’

For Release Upon Receipt - October 15, 2019

St. Augustine


Professor Laura Roberts-Nkrumah

One of the longest serving lecturers at the Faculty of Food and Agriculture (FFA), Professor Laura Roberts-Nkrumah, launched her latest publication, ‘The Breadfruit Germplasm Collection’ on Wednesday 2nd October 2019 at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) St. Augustine Campus.

Roberts-Nkrumah, who is Professor of Crop Science and Production, Department of Food Production began actively working on breadfruit in the 1990’s but had already started gathering information long before that. She believes that not only can this underdeveloped and neglected species satisfy nutritional requirements in the Caribbean and help in the fight against non-communicable diseases but also significantly contribute to entrepreneurial opportunities through food and non-food applications.

Delivering remarks at the launch was High Commissioner for Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago, H.E Arthur H.W. Williams, who reflected on Jamaica’s contribution to the funding of the collection and lauded the book as an example of ‘exemplary academic collaboration’ which is ‘indicative of the creativity, the vision and foresight of our peoples as we collectively seek to create new pathways towards achieving economic growth and sustainable development of our region.’

Dr Mark Wuddivira, Head of the Department of Food Production, FFA and Chair of the event, explained that the book was the culmination of years of ground-breaking and pioneering research work on breadfruit.  During his book review at the launch, Professor Emeritus E. Julian Duncan, Professor of Botany, Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology said it should be a vital item in the book collections of ministries of agriculture, agricultural research organisations, students of agriculture, entrepreneurs in the nutraceutical industries and many others.

“Between the covers of this book is a wealth of information on the germplasm collections studied, which, if used, should promote sustainable commercial production and utilisation of breadfruit for food and nutrition security in the Caribbean and similar areas, the dream that fuelled the idea that was the motive force that drove the research effort leading to the research and eventually, the production of this book,” said Professor Duncan.

Also speaking at the launch was Mr Ian E. Welch Director, Nutrien Trinidad (formerly PCS Nitrogen Limited) who said that ‘The Breadfruit Germplasm Collection’ is important for the implementation, development and maintenance of biological diversity and food security. “This book has positioned the breadfruit to take its rightful place of pride as sustainable source of food and nutrition. I’d like to think of today as a milestone in the rekindling of a neglected and underutilised species by this outstanding publication,” said Mr. Welch.

Professor Wayne Ganpat, Dean of the FFA, congratulated Professor Roberts-Nkrumah and affirmed that the book will be a source of knowledge and inspiration for all students and lovers of breadfruit in generations to come. “Breadfruit,” he pointed out, “is a primary food crop for Caribbean people since it first arrived and has continued to be a basic staple. This crop has a survival function; if anything were to happen to our food supply, we should be able to rely on the breadfruit.”

The FFA will plant 105 breadfruit trees at its Agricultural Innovation Park, starting with an initial planting on World Food Day tomorrow, October 16, 2019. At the time of its maturity and fruiting in late 2021, these 100 trees will mark the continuation of an eminently respected tradition of agricultural research with the establishment of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in 1921. This later became the Faculty of Agriculture in 1960 and the first faculty of the St. Augustine Campus.

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About The UWI

For more than 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider world. The UWI evolved from a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally respected, regional university with near 50,000 students across five campuses: Cave Hill in Barbados; Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda; Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago; and an Open Campus. Times Higher Education has ranked The UWI among the top 1,258 universities in world for 2019, and the 40 best universities in its Latin America Rankings for 2018 and 2019. The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists.

As part of its robust globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa including the State University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development; the Canada-Caribbean Studies Institute with Brock University; the Strategic Alliance for Hemispheric Development with Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES); The UWI-China Institute of Information Technology, the University of Lagos (UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African and Diaspora Studies and the Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. As the region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost objective is driving the growth and development of the regional economy. For more, visit www.uwi.edu.

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of “The”)

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