The University of the West Indies (UWI) will be undertaking research to determine the uses and economic potential of the breadfruit.

The research will be done in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, the Northern Caribbean University and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), which has done extensive fieldwork on the fruit.

Laura Roberts-Nkrumah, researcher in the Department of Food Production at UWI's St. Augustine campus in Trinidad, who will be undertaking the study, attended the recently held Bath Breadfruit Festival in St. Thomas, where she got a first-hand look at consumption patterns and methods of utilisation.

She explained that in addition to observing the uses of the fruit, the aim is to ascertain the impact of the festival and the desire of young people to continue traditional uses.

Mrs. Roberts-Nkrumah, who has been researching breadfruit throughout the region for the last 16 years, said she was impressed with the wide range of dishes and products, which highlights the versatility of the fruit.

"I've seen a fairly wide range of different uses. What I'm interested in finding out is whether the recipes are typical of what people use in Bath or in the wider Jamaican community or whether they are just for display to show the potential of breadfruit," she said.

She pointed out that while breadfruit festivals are held in several countries across the region including Montserrat and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the exhibits in Bath "were taking on a whole new spectrum."

"I find it interesting that people are now beginning to use the ripe breadfruit in cakes and a lot of the desert-type dishes whereas traditionally we do not really use the ripe breadfruit," Mrs. Roberts-Nkrumah stated.