Farmers’ perception of the role of breadfruit during COVID-19 and the future of the crop in Hawaiʻi
The subsistence value of breadfruit has increased during COVID-19 according to 13 of 14 participants (93%), and this result resonated with previous conclusions of breadfruit being an important subsistence crop (Needham and Lincoln 2019; Ragone 2018).
However, the finding that breadfruit gains importance as a subsistence crop during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic is novel, and asserts the importance and potential of breadfruit as a nutritious, high yielding crop which can mitigate food security issues (Ragone et al. 2016), even in a developed economy like Hawaiʻi. In addition, we found that the incentive of growing breadfruit to sustain family consumption needs has been reinforced as an effect of the pandemic (Fig. 2).
Breadfruit has gained importance for local communities during COVID-19. The desire of customers to buy local produce as a direct reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic has increased according to 10 of 14 participants (71%). Though this question was not specifically directed at the demand for breadfruit, it indicates that the interest for local farm produce has increased during the pandemic. Furthermore, 3 of 14 participants (21%) responded that they would increase the amount of breadfruit trees on their farm as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This trend is supported by findings of Fardkhales and Lincoln (2021) who conclude that 83% of food hubs increased their purchasing of local food from Hawaiian farmers during COVID-19. In effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive impact on the narrative around local food which could offset important change for the future of the breadfruit crop in Hawaiʻi thereby increasing consumer acceptability of breadfruit in line with needs expressed in a study by Lysák et al. (2019).
Additionally, the circumstances have shed light on the vital role that breadfruit can play in a food emergency crisis, for example replacing rice as a staple crop at Hawaiian food banks, when there was a rice shortage in the US mainland (Fardkhales and Lincoln 2021). Our results show that a majority of participants express that being embedded in the community benefits the farm operation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Milestad and Darnhofer (2003) argue that farms with local networks that are rooted in the local community can build a strong relationship with consumers and thereby provide options for direct marketing.
Three of 14 participants (21%) responded that they would increase the amount of breadfruit trees on their farm as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although this is a relatively low number of respondents, the result is worth paying attention to, as it indicates at least that some farmers predict an increased production need as an effect of the crisis.
Based on the limited number of respondents (n = 19), farmers involved in a cooperative (6 farmers) utilize 87% and sell 52% of their harvested breadfruit on average, while farmers not involved with a cooperative (n = 13) only utilize 64% and sell 28% of their harvested breadfruit.
The waste percentage of the entire sample combined is 27% (Fig. 3). Whereas all types of fruit production generally have a waste proportion, the relatively low utilization percentage outside the cooperatives especially is in line with findings by Ragone et al. (2016) suggesting an unused capacity of breadfruit. While we did not investigate reasons for waste, we speculate that many new trees have been planted but are not yet productive, whereas many older trees have a size that exceeds harvestability, some fruit is lost to disease/fungal pressure, and some fruit harvested is not a high enough grade for use in sale or distribution (Langston and Lincoln 2018). Additional reasons for farmers not harvesting everything is possibly competing demands on time and lack of capacity. From the cooperative perspective the demand by far outstrips the supply at the moment (Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative, 2022). For those not in a cooperative access to markets may be the greatest reason it is not all harvested, which emphasizes the importance of the cooperatives and other solutions to increase market access.
Profitability of outlets for breadfruit produce
To gain knowledge about how the various outputs of breadfruit vary in profitability from the farmers perspective, we asked participants which outlet gives them the highest price per breadfruit. The responses indicated that selling produce locally gives the highest price per breadfruit (42%) (Fig. 4), which might explain why strong ties with the community, in which the farm exists, provides a connection which can serve as an important direct sales outlet, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. It is important to bear in mind that half of the participants in the survey are not producing breadfruit commercially but merely for subsistence reasons, which means that selling produce to locals and neighbors is potentially the only available outlet for half of the participants.
Fardkhales and Lincoln (2021) found that the Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative had an increase in total sales by 25% after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cooperative also had an increase in suppliers from 80 before March 2020 to 100 after June 2020. The sales in the cooperative went from being mainly reliant on institutions and the service industry to community supported agriculture (CSA’s), defined by the US Department of Agriculture as a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production (Woods et al., 2017), as well as collaborations with other food hubs and food banks (encompassed in the category food distributors, thereby making most of their outlets direct-to consumer oriented).
Benefits of agro-ecosystems for community resilience
Ten of 15 participants (67%) answered that they employ some configuration of agro-ecosystems, as opposed to monoculture or non-integrated diverse farming, and 7 of 10 (70%) participants said that their agro-ecosystems practice has benefitted their farm operation during COVID-19. Participants identified 12 socio-economic and environmental benefits of growing breadfruit in agro-ecosystems with “Diverse farming for economic resilience” being the most commonly perceived benefit of agro-ecosystems (12 of 15; 80%) (Fig. 5).
The number of sellable products that surveyed farmers’ agro-ecosystem produce ranged from 1 to > 10, with 2–4 being most common (40%, n = 10). Among the most important crops of participants' agro-ecosystems were banana, avocado, citrus and cassava (Additional file 1: Table S2). Traditional Hawaiian agro-ecosystems crops like ti, turmeric, kava, sugarcane and taro were also mentioned (Additional file 1: Table S2) (Elevitch and Ragone 2018; Kurashima and Kirch 2011; Lincoln and Ladefoged 2014).
The Maʻafala variety was the most used (17 of 24 participants, 71%) of 13 listed breadfruit varieties reported to be used by the farmers and is known for having a high protein content and quality (Additional file 1: Table S2; Jones et al. 2011). ‘Ulu fiti, which is known for high mineral content, especially iron, was being used by 9 of 24 farmers (38%). The more unseasonal varieties such as Meion, Meinpadakh, and Toneno (Liu et al. 2014) were only reported used by one farmer each, whereas the Pua’a variety was used by 3 of 24 farmers. Farmer’s reported harvesting in all months with August to December being peak season and March–June being low season. This suggests there is a potential for increasing benefits from planting more varieties including unseasonal varieties (Jones et al. 2011). Access to diverse varieties is still limited due to lack of capacity and distribution chains, but more than 150 different varieties are being preserved in ex situ collections, primarily by the Breadfruit Institute in NTBG’s Kahanu Garden in Hana, Maui (Global Crop Diversity Trust, 2007).