Planters encouraged to set up orchard

In his address, Minister Seeruttun highlighted the multiple benefits of breadfruit namely, carbon sequestration, reduced erosion, tolerance to pest and diseases, high resilience to weather extremes, and increased biodiversity.  It is a crop with great potential for exploitation on marginal sugarcane lands using agro forestry low input production system to support food security and sustainable development, he added.

Furthermore, the Agro-industry Minister indicated that the crop is high in nutritive value and can be converted in high quality gluten-free flour and other value-added products such as noodles, pasta, biscuits, crisps, and frozen fries besides being an easy and simple source of income for planters. He also pointed out that there is growing demand for gluten-free flour for celiac patients who show gluten intolerance as well as health conscious consumers. He thus encouraged planters to establish breadfruit orchards to benefit from the various advantages associated with it.

The Minister recalled that, in 2012, the Agricultural Research and Extension Unit set up the first breadfruit village at Pamplemousses experimental station, now known as the Pamplemousses Organic Research Station. The purpose was to promote breadfruit as part of a healthy diet to address problem of obesity because of its high dietary fibre content and its low glycemic index, he said. Since then, some 2,000 potted breadfruit trees have been produced and sold by the Ministry of Agro-industry and Food Security and FAREI for the establishment of breadfruit orchards as well as for growing in backyards. Some 3,500 planters are engaged in the plantation of breadfruit in the country and around 1 million fruits are reaped annually, indicated the Minister.

Benefits of breadfruits

The widely distributed variety in Mauritius is a Tongan variety, introduced by the French and was first planted in the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden in 1796.

Breadfruit (Artocarpusaltilis) belongs to the Moraceae family and originated in vast area of the South Pacific region. It is a nutritious starchy food, rich in fibre, minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium and vitamins (C, B, K, E). It is gluten free, has a low level of sodium, cholesterol and saturated fats and with a low glycemic index which makes it a good food for diabetics, people suffering from hypertensions and cephalic patients.