Farmers restore breadfruit’s role in Pacific Islands food systems

By Ron Rocky Coloma

Across the Pacific Islands, breadfruit is more than a food staple—it’s a vessel of heritage, knowledge and climate resilience. Once regarded as a traditional crop from the past, it is now taking on new relevance as farmers, scientists and communities work to restore its role in food systems shaped by environmental change.

Known scientifically as Artocarpus altilis, breadfruit has fed generations throughout Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. But the tree’s legacy extends beyond its starchy fruit. Breadfruit cultivars are deeply tied to local identities, carrying stories, cultivation techniques and language unique to each island. From circular varieties in Hawaii to spiny hybrids in the Marianas, every tree represents more than agriculture—it represents place.

“Breadfruit isn’t just a crop,” said Noel Dickinson, coordinator of the Breadfruit

Institute at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kauai. “It’s a biocultural resource.”

At the Breadfruit Institute, researchers manage one of the most diverse breadfruit collections in the world. The living collection spans over 380 trees representing more than 150 named cultivars, along with dozens of wild relatives and hybrids. The goal is to conserve this genetic and cultural diversity while sharing knowledge with farmers and communities who rely on it for food security.

“We often think of breadfruit as a single tree, but it’s part of a complex,” Dickinson said. “Each variety has its own strengths—some tolerate drought, others are salt-resistant. That makes it an ideal crop for climate adaptation.”

Breadfruit belongs to a larger family of species that includes Artocarpus mariannensis, native to Micronesia and known locally as dukduk, and Artocarpus camansi, a seedy wild relative from Papua New Guinea. These lesser-known species contribute important traits such as hardiness and nutritional value.

In the Solomon Islands, farmer organizations are integrating breadfruit into community-based agroforestry systems. One such group, the Kastom Gaden Association, works with over 7,000 farmers to conserve planting material, document crop traits and share traditional farming practices across rural areas.

“We want our farmers to grow what works in their land, in their climate,” said Pita Tikai, a leader of the association. “That means collecting varieties, testing them, labeling them and then letting communities decide what to keep.”

The organization runs germplasm centers, where local crops are conserved in seed banks and demonstration plots. Farmers gather at diversity fairs to evaluate traits such as taste, yield, pest resistance and market value. Through this process, communities are not only preserving crop varieties—they’re passing on knowledge between generations.

“Saving seeds is saving culture,” Tikai said. “We’re not just planting trees. We’re preserving our identity.”

Breadfruit’s role in food security is becoming increasingly important. With extreme weather patterns, changing soil conditions and rising costs of imported food, local crops like breadfruit offer stability. They can be integrated into agroforests with other crops to create year-round food sources and protect against climate shocks.

But challenges remain. Loss of cultivars, land development, invasive species and declining interest among youth are threatening traditional knowledge systems. Dickinson noted that more than 2,000 vernacular names for breadfruit have been recorded throughout the Pacific—a reflection of diversity that is not yet fully understood or documented.

“That number tells us just how much we haven’t captured,” she said. “And with every lost tree or forgotten variety, we lose more than food. We lose a relationship between people and the land.”

Preserving this relationship requires more than research. It involves partnerships between farmers, scientists, elders and youth to co-create systems that are rooted in tradition but adaptable to the present.

“It’s not just about trees in a garden,” Dickinson said. “It’s about sharing stories, planting with intention and valuing what’s already been passed down.”

Looking ahead, both the Breadfruit Institute and Pacific farmer networks aim to increase support for farmer-led conservation efforts, improve access to planting materials and continue documenting the ecological and cultural traits of each cultivar. The goal is not only to secure breadfruit’s place in the future but to ensure that its past remains alive and relevant.

In some villages, elders still remember the names of specific breadfruit trees planted by their ancestors. The fruit, they say, tastes different depending on who grew it, where it grew and how it’s prepared.

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