JAMAICA RECEIVES 500 OF GARVEY'S BREADFRUIT TREES
BY LUKE DOUGLAS Environment Watch staff reporter douglasl@jamaicaobserver.com - April 2011
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Press Release:
On August 17, 2015, the 128th anniversary of the birth of the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey (see link below) 392 high yielding and fast growing breadfruit cultivars have left the Global Breadfruit facility in Florida for the island of Dominica.
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Breadfruit tissue culture
According to the CEO of the Caribbean Agricultural Network (CAN) Major Francis Richards, the cultivars (Ulu-fiti) and (Otea) are the donation of New York based General Surgeon Dr Julius Garvey, the last son of Marcus Garvey.
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At the end of the hardening process, the objective of the project is to distribute the plants within the seven (7) agricultural regions on island. Upon arrival the cultivars will be transported to the Ministry of Agriculture’s greenhouse facility at Portsmouth where they will be hardened for three months prior to distribution to local farmers. The advanced cultivar types sent to Dominica are fast bearing and will fruit within 2 to 3 years, compared to the standard 3 to 5 years.
Dr. Garvey is a member of the Caribbean Agricultural Network and has dedicated himself to the development of Caribbean food security, in accordance with the principles of self reliance advocated by his father who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in the early 1900s. Dominica was a major base of support for the UNIA during its early years and Marcus Garvey himself was invited to Dominica in 1929 with the aid of UNIA representative, noted local poet and self rule activist JR Ralph Casimir.
According to CAN's Director on Dominica, Errol Emmanuel, the breadfruit proliferation effort will complement the cocoa revival project on Dominica led by the Caribbean Agricultural Network in league with Dominica's cocoa farmers.
The objective of CAN is to rebuild the agriculture and food security backbone on Dominica, and the Caribbean region. On August 1, 2015 St Lucian agriculture scientist and former ambassador to the US, Dr Eddie Edmunds joined CAN as its Director of Agriculture Institution Relations.
The CAN President Gabriel J. Christian, wishes to thank Dr Garvey for his leadership in agriculture and food security by this gift, and the Government of Dominica and other persons who have come forward to collaborate on its agriculture development mission.
Other breadfruit related information can be viewed at http://www.caribbeanagriculturalnetwork.com/2015_06_01_archive.html
Note: The consignment of breadfruit plants arrived safely at the Douglas/Charles airport on Tuesday August 18th, 2015. With the invaluable assistance from the staff of the Division of Agriculture and members of the CAN team the plants were transported to the green house at the Portsmouth Agric Station where they will be hardened for approx three (3) months before distribution as a public/private sector initiative.
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Total Trees exported : 63,780 Total Countries: 35
OCEANIA (8)
CARIBBEAN (10)
Jamaica (2009)
Haiti (2010)
Bermuda (2013)
Nevis (2013)
Puerto Rico (2013)
Cayman Islands (2013)
Barbados (2014)
Bahamas (2014)
Antigua and Barbuda (2015)
Dominica (2015)
CENTRAL AMERICA (6)
Honduras (2009)
Nicaragua (2011)
Costa Rica (2012)
Panama (2013)
Guatemala (2013)
Belize (2015)
AFRICA (9)
Ghana (2011)
Mozambique (2011)
Nigeria (2011)
Tanzania (2011)
Madagascar (2012)
Kenya (2013)
Liberia (2013)
Rwanda (2014)
Zambia (2014)
ASIA (2)
Myanmar (2012)
Pakistan (2014)
Note: The consignment of breadfruit plants arrived safely at the Douglas/Charles airport on Tuesday August 18th, 2015. With the invaluable assistance from the staff of the Division of Agriculture and members of the CAN team the plants were transported to the green house at the Portsmouth Agric Station where they will be hardened for approx three (3) months before distribution as a public/private sector initiative.
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Breadfruit facts from GlOBAL BREADFRUIT
OCEANIA (8)
Hawaii (2009)
American Samoa (2012)
Guam (2012)
French Polynesia (2013)
Commonwealth Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) (2013)
Samoa (2014)
Republic of the Marshall Islands (Majuro) (2014)
Federated States of Micronesia (Pohnpei, Chuuk) (2014)
CARIBBEAN (10)
Jamaica (2009)
Haiti (2010)
Bermuda (2013)
Nevis (2013)
Puerto Rico (2013)
Cayman Islands (2013)
Barbados (2014)
Bahamas (2014)
Antigua and Barbuda (2015)
Dominica (2015)
CENTRAL AMERICA (6)
Honduras (2009)
Nicaragua (2011)
Costa Rica (2012)
Panama (2013)
Guatemala (2013)
Belize (2015)
AFRICA (9)
Ghana (2011)
Mozambique (2011)
Nigeria (2011)
Tanzania (2011)
Madagascar (2012)
Kenya (2013)
Liberia (2013)
Rwanda (2014)
Zambia (2014)
ASIA (2)
Myanmar (2012)
Pakistan (2014)
