Transcript
SINAI TUITAHI: This is the first time for the Pacific Farmers Organisation members to come and talk face to face about the breadfruit as a crop that is part of the food security. Not only that, but it enhances the livelihood of the farmers.
INDIRA STEWART: How well does breadfruit fare during natural disasters like cyclones?
ST: It can withstand drought. For the past two to three years we have experienced a prolonged drought period and breadfruit has proved that it can withstand drought. In terms of cyclones, if you prune the breadfruit there won't be much damage. But if you leave the breadfruit tree to grow high, you know, certainly it will be damaged. You have to prune it, you have to prune the trees. And it will minimise the damage.
IS: How many different varieties are there of breadfruit?
ST: I know three, but there are more than three here in Tonga and I'm sure there are more different varieties in the pacific.
IS: And they're a seedless fruit, are they?
ST: Not really. When they say - according to what I get from the technical people, when they say 'seedless' it doesn't mean they are really seedless. But there are less seeds.
IS: And these farmers that are attending this week, as well as other farmers who are part of PIFON but won't be attending this week, is there a focus on exporting breadfruit into the international produce market?
ST: Yes, there are sessions on exporting. And some growers who are exporting breadfruit will be given the opportunity to share the experience on breadfruit export. Here in Tonga we do export. I know that Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, they are exporters of breadfruit here. And you can export fresh breadfruit but it's subject to biosecurity. But you can also export it cooked.
IS: Right, because there are different types of breadfruit products coming out now. I recently saw a breadfruit flour, and then there's breadfruit chips. So are many of these farmers capitalising on making a variety of different breadfruit products like those?
ST: Yes, that'll be one of the sessions - is breadfruit processing. And they will be talking about flour, that's been produced from breadfruit. And there are experiences on that from Fiji and I think from other countries. We have yet to produce breadfruit flour here in Tonga but we have people who are coming from Fiji and the other countries who will be talking about the breadfruit processing. And of course breadfruit can be made into chips.
IS: Yeah, they're quite popular.
ST: That's right. It's quite popular.