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July 2015
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A fitting theme, if one were to revisit breadfruit’s introduction from the Pacific to the Caribbean islands in 1793 when, after having been struck by hurricanes and other natural disasters, in addition to feeling the brunt of Britain’s trade embargo mounted against the American War of Independence, the region found itself in need of a local food supply. The solution – breadfruit. The breadfruit’s journey to the Caribbean can be described as nothing short of an adventure. Its difficult introduction to our region forms an important part of our history. The fruit survived and thrived, in fact, and is now considered a staple in Caribbean cuisine. Apart from the fruit itself, you’ll find on the market, packaged breadfruit chips, frozen breadfruit chunks and slices, canned breadfruit in some Caribbean islands and even frozen TV dinners. Yet, for its 200 years of existence in our islands, its value has not been fully realised. Even in the Pacific Islands where the breadfruit originated, consumption and knowledge have diminished. This general disinterest has led to some varieties disappearing altogether. A Senior Lecturer in Crop Production and former Head of the Department of Food Production, Dr Laura Roberts-Nkrumah has been working on the breadfruit for more than 25 years; her research spans the region and includes topics such as breadfruit propagation, germplasm collection and evaluation, orchard management, consumer preferences and cooking methods, as well as the use of breadfruit for food security and income generation. She has also been instrumental in expanding the range of breadfruit varieties grown in the Caribbean, having travelled to the Pacific to collect additional germplasm. Our breadfruit germplasm collection, housed at the University Field Station, is now the largest outside of the Pacific. In 2007, the first international breadfruit meeting was held in Fiji. Its objective – to encourage conservation of the plant. This year’s conference goal is commercialisation: to realise the potential for breadfruit’s contribution to food and nutrition security, through support for enterprises and development of breadfruit-based industry. In underscoring this theme, Dr Roberts-Nkrumah added that the discourse on breadfruit included its relative, the chataigne. The Caribbean region is the biggest consumer of breadfruit outside of the Pacific Islands. However, Dr Roberts-Nkrumah said, “As well-known as the fruit is as a food crop, it has not experienced the levels of development and promotion for consumption as some of our root crops.” This can be traced back to the breadfruit’s establishment within our islands, when it was rejected by the planters and enslaved Africans, alike. During the decades since, in Trinidad and other Caribbean countries, the fruit has gone through periods of extreme discrimination. Its relatively low cultural requirement and cost in comparison to other staples, like rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as its use to feed livestock, resulted in the stigma: breadfruit is poor people food. The fruit is, however, now experiencing a period of high popularity –breadfruit’s health benefits, particularly in warding off certain lifestyle diseases, have been widely touted. As a result of these findings and its high yields, Dr Roberts-Nkrumah said, “In 2004 the breadfruit was declared a crop to be conserved for food and nutrition security.” Building on these trends, the 2015 International Breadfruit Conference aims to converge breadfruit researchers and producers, equipment manufacturers, farmers and exporters from the Caribbean, the Pacific, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States. Dr Roberts-Nkrumah added, “People working in various areas - medicine, nutrition and health, propagation, processing equipment” have shown interest – among them being Dr Diane Ragone, Director of the Breadfruit Institute in Hawaii – who is the keynote speaker. Still on the subject of taking breadfruit seriously, she also said, “If you’re talking commercialisation and building industry, then researchers can’t just sit among themselves and come up with feasible developmental ideas. All stakeholders must contribute to the discourse if we are intending to build a long term industry.” The private sector, as a key stakeholder with the resources and vision to drive an industry has led the support for this conference. PCS Nitrogen Trinidad Ltd is the main sponsor. The Caribbean Development Bank and The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), are also key supporters. The Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Food Production breadfruit nursery and NAMDEVCO will be among the sites visited during the field trip which takes place on Wednesday 8 July. Another contributor to the conference is the Inter-American Institute for Coorporation on Agriculture (IICA), which will play an active role in the first ever Breadfruit Exhibition and Festival in TT, carded for Friday 10 July, at The UWI. With all the support and interest gained, Dr Roberts-Nkrumah is confident in the conference’s success. “The biggest take-away we can achieve is that all attendees – from Trinidad and Tobago, the region and the countries from which other participants will come, leave enriched and motivated to stimulate and support the development of breadfruit and chataigne in their own countries.” Dr Roberts-Nkrumah is particularly looking forward to Friday’s exhibition, which will feature displays by community groups and farmers, as well as those whose works have been inspired by breadfruit and chataigne, including, researchers in medicine and health, artists and chefs. Open to the public and free of charge, this whole-day event aims to showcase the diversity of the breadfruit, which can be used for many things, from being repurposed as a craft item to an element of growing community tourism. Of course, its value as a food cannot be eclipsed and among the objectives of conference is to show the public new and varied ways of preparing breadfruit-based meals. In addition to challenging chefs, who will be demonstrating their own breadfruit creations, a breadfruit recipe book, developed by Instructor in Human Ecology, Chanelle Joseph, in collaboration with UWI’s Library, will be available. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside. Breadfruit SaladIngredients
Method Breadfruit Au GratinIngredients
Method Stuffed BreadfruitIngredients
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Beginning today, The UWI is hosting the 2015 International Breadfruit Conference, themed, Commercialising breadfruit for food and nutrition security.