Diversifying Agriculture for Better Lives

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02 May 2011
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Breadfruit tree

Breadfruit tree in Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

The Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog brought our attention to these new papers on breadfruit:

 

They contain lots of new information on nutritional value, and even traditional medicinal attributes of breadfruit. Unfortunately, as far as one can tell from the abstracts (of paper 2 and 3), they are silent on what constrains the use of breadfruit, in particular the demand for it. The tree is to be found everywhere in the tropics, and can produce much food with no human intervention, but except for Oceania is hardly ever used to any significant extent (except as an ornamental tree). Awareness of the nutritional value as promoted by the papers is unlikely to change the limited use of breadfruit, as food choices continue to be mainly influenced by texture, taste and colour and other culinary attributes. The first paper suggests that breadfruit use is also in decline in Oceania, with increasing use of wheat and rice to blame. What are the reasons for that? Are they cheaper or more convenient staples? Rather than looking at breadfruit as a source of a flour for substituting wheat (see p. 149 of paper 1; a strategy that never seems to have worked to boost the use of minor starchy staples), what can be done to secure it a niche as a specialty food. Any recipes that express unique flavours or textures? Celebrate breadfruit rather than relegate it to substitute status! (Promotion of the gluten-free property of breadfruit, though, is a first step in the right marketing direction.)

One Response so far.

  1. Thanks for the link, and for commenting at our site. You might like to have a look at Diane Ragone’s reply: http://agro.biodiver.se/2011/04/breadfruit-roundup/.

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