Education

Breadfruit is a neglected and underutilized species that is very resilient due to its robust root system and will continue to thrive despite the projections of climate changes in the tropics.   Whether fried, fermented, roasted or eaten raw, breadfruit is an adaptable food That Has played an important role in Oceanic cuisine for thousands of years.  As the name suggests, breadfruit is a fruit that tastes very much like freshly baked bread.  It’s even been nicknamed the “tree potato” because of its starchy consistency. Now, as the climate continues to shift because of human actions, the fruit will increasingly play a role in addressing global hunger.

The benefits of breadfruit cultivation are numerous and pose almost no threats to widespread adoption.  As commercial varieties are seedless, breadfruit has no chance of becoming invasive in areas it is introduced.  In addition to its obvious role in alleviating food shortages, breadfruit cultivation improves substantially soil properties by reducing sun intensity with shade, improving soil moisture, improving organic matter with its copious leaves, reducing compaction with its fibrous root systems, and preventing erosion (See video).  Furthermore, most cash crops are a single annual event, whereas breadfruit is harvested twice annually.  

In Honduras, coffee is the main cash crop.  However, roller coaster world coffee prices reduce profitability to a once-in-a-decade event and only in the event of widespread drought in Brazil.  Widespread emigration of young Hondurans to Spain and the USA have reduced labor availability during the coffee harvest months of October to February making coffee cultivation even less profitable and difficult due to the shortage of pickers.  One hectare of coffee can require several pickers for months on end to constantly pick the beans as they ripen, thereby reducing profits due to the large labor requirements.  Moreover, the thousands of plants per hectare requires even more labor during the fertilization, weed removal, and pruning.  Conversely, only three people are required to manage a breadfruit farm of 10 hectares during the entire year, including the harvest.  Breadfruit prices are not controlled by worldwide markets.  

Much research of breadfruit is still needed in commercial production.  Areas of interest include proper tree spacing, timing and intensity of pruning, the amount of water and heat stress needed to induce fruiting, and the best fertilizers for tree health.  The proper varieties, of which there are hundreds, for both year round production, differing growing conditions, and superior fruit qualities, need to be identified by growers and processors.  Breadfruit can be extremely capricious, with a single tree producing hundreds of fruits, whereas its neighbor of the same age and growing conditions, produces zero fruits.  The Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden of Hawaii www.ntbg.org has made great strides in breadfruit research.  The collective efforts of producers and researchers will ultimately solve these riddles.