Breadfruit, the Tree of Life for a Hungry Planet
All the world is looking for the next superfood that improve the health and nutrition, and relieve the hunger in the planet. Well, in reality already it is between us, and it has been during long. The yaca, also known like tree of bread, has cultivated in Oceania by more than 3,000 years, and in a lot of islands the trees form the heart of complex multiespecies agroforest. These jungles of foods are a model of system of production sustentable, and could help us to destrabar the challenges of security that a lot of parts of the tropical world are confronting.
Why Breadfruit? It treats of a perennial tree of long life, easy to cultivate in a wide range of ecological conditions with a minimum care. The trees reach the necessary development to the three or four years, when producing a rich fruit in starch and equivalent carbohydrates to the annual discontinuous crop of grains like the rice and the corn, as well as of pope and camote. This involves a quantity of lower work that the necessary for the crop of products that have to be recolectados and replantados, reduces the loss of upper floor and stores carbon. For the inhabitants of the island of PacÃfico, the yaca has turned into a tree of life.
In the decade of 1970, the Tropical Botanic Garden (NTBG, by his acronyms in English) recognised the need to conserve the diversity of the yaca. I involved me with the NTBG around the middle of the decade of the 80 and travelled to more than 50 islands of PacÃfico, collecting cientos of varieties and documenting practical traditional and knowledges related with this important crop. The botanic gardens are in an ideal position to do this type of work, because the understanding of the plants and his uses is the essence of what do.
Now we administer the tank of yaca bigger of the world and thanks to a wide investigation on this treasure is possible to grow and distribute the tree of bread in big quantities, for like this help to relieve the hunger. Why it is important this? Almost billion of people in the world do not have the sufficient to feed . Two thousand millions more see affected by the "unseen hunger", that is to say, by the fault of micronutrientes suitable.
In 2009, with the help of our partner Cultivaris LLC implement a global initiative with the aim to distribute yaca to world-wide level. We are truly motivated by the answer, since in the actuality are 30 countries, between them Ghana, Haiti, Kenia, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Pakistan, those that have received more than 40,000 trees. This work carries out with the collaboration of thousands of individuals and community organisations. It is thrilling to see the big interest that there is all over the world around this agricultural heritage.