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Food
and
Agriculture
Organization
of
the
United
Nations
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R E
P O R T
SMALL-SCALE
PROCESSING OF STARCHY
STAPLES IN
CARICOM COUNTRIES
Lynda D.
Wickham, Ph.D.
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SMALL-SCALE PROCESSING OF STARCHY
STAPLES IN CARICOM COUNTRIES
Lynda D. Wickham, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Department of Food
Production
Faculty of Agriculture and
Natural Sciences
University of the West
Indies
St Augustine
Trinidad
West Indies
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The data
and views expressed in this document do not imply the expression of any
opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations, in connection with the legal status of any country,
territory, city or area, or of its Authorities, or concerning the
delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
Although starchy staples contribute substantially to the domestic
food sector in CARICOM, the full potential of these staples has yet to be
realized by countries in the Region.
The current study was funded by the
Agro-Industries and Post-Harvest Management Service of FAO, in an effort to
consolidate information on the production and utilization of these crops, and
to highlight potential product development and processing opportunities for
them.
It is hoped that this report will
serve as a catalyst for efforts geared toward adding value to these raw
materials, and increasing their utility and consumption in CARICOM.
J.H.
Monyo
Director
Agricultural
Support Systems Division
SMALL-SCALE
PROCESSING OF STARCHY STAPLES IN CARICOM COUNTRIES
INTRODUCTION
The starchy staples
of importance in the CARICOM Region include bananas and plantain (Musa spp.), breadfruit and breadnut (Artocarpus altilis and A. camansi), yams (Dioscorea spp.), cassava (Manihot
esculenta Crantz), sweet potato (Ipomoea
batatas (L.)) and the edible aroids, dasheen (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott var esculenta), eddoe (Colocasia
esculenta (L.) Schott var antiquorum)
and tannia (Xanthosoma sagittifolium). Regionally,
these crops constitute an important part of the agricultural subsector making
significant contributions to the domestic food sector as part of the
carbohydrate food supply and to the regional and extraregional export
sector. Despite their importance on a
regional basis, it is the common perception that these crops have not realized
their full potential and that they can be further exploited to the benefit of
the regional economy. Surely an
examination of the role played by these crops is essential to an assessment of
further developmental needs as their current and potential contribution to
regional food security are being increasingly recognized.
On a regional basis, despite the
production of rice, banana, plantain, breadfruit and various tuber crops, the
heavy reliance on imported staples for consumption undermines
independence. Thus, the Region’s
insufficiency with respect to the domestic production of carbohydrate staples
remains a cause for concern and demonstrates the urgent need to re-examine the
issue of regional food security. The tropical starchy staples, adapted to the Caribbean
environment, offer an excellent opportunity for satisfying a larger percentage
of the consumptive demand for carbohydrates from domestic sources. However, current food consumption patterns
vary across the Region with respect to the extent of utilization of these
crops. Further, the influence of the
electronic media and the establishment of fast food chains on the consumptive
patterns of individuals, particularly those in the younger age groups, have
been to further modify consumptive patterns for these crops. Accordingly, if the regionally produced
starchy staples are to contribute to a larger proportion of the carbohydrate
energy supply to regional populations, the challenge will be to increase the
current level of utilization by whatever means.
Further, these crops generally contain in excess of ninety percent (90%)
moisture in the fresh state. When this
is compared with the cereal crops with which they compete, the cost of
handling, transportation and storage on a dry matter or food value basis is
very high and provides further justification for the production of processed
products.
Many of these staples have relatively long growth periods. The typical cropping period for sweet
cassava cultivars is nine to eleven months; yams too have a growing period of
nine to eleven months giving them a comparative disadvantage with respect to
grain products since cereal and grain legumes have a growth period of three to
four months. They are also
characterized by poor post-harvest shelf lives that influence their availability
to varying extents. Breadfruit, cassava,
the aroids, and to a lesser extent, sweet potato, are most highly
perishable. Extensive research has led
to the development of post-harvest handling systems for the successful
marketing of bananas while some yam cultivars have relatively long post-harvest
shelf lives when other relevant factors such as microbial invasion, pest damage
and mechanical injury are not limiting.
The attractiveness of product development from the starchy staples in
developing countries is due, at least in part, to its contribution to the
socio-economic development of rural areas.
Within the Caribbean Region, these crops form an extremely important
part of the agricultural sector constituting an integral part of small farmer
activity. While there are obvious benefits to be derived from processing these
staples, the specific characteristics of the production environment will
dictate the feasibility of any processing venture and must be investigated on
an individual basis.
Within the CARICOM Region, a very
dynamic situation exists in the food processing sector as businesses flourish
and fail. The processing sector is
heavily influenced by raw material availability, overall cost of production,
development of technological problems and marketing arrangements. This document
examines the current status of production of value- added products from the
starchy staples within the context of production and utilization patterns for
the raw material, current contribution to food security and nutrition, as well
as current production and research investigations. Based on this, appropriate
techniques for small scale processing of these crops are proposed and
discussed.
I.
TROPICAL STARCHY STAPLES PRODUCED IN THE CARICOM REGION
Production and consumption statistics for tropical starchy
staples vary widely throughout the CARICOM Region. Production and usage patterns are influenced by the availability
of arable land, population size, traditional and ethnic production and
consumption patterns and the development of the agricultural sector relative to
that of other sectors of the economy such as tourism, manufacturing and
petroleum, in the case of Trinidad and Tobago.
Generally, the production of these staples is of major importance in
Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Dominica, St Lucia, Guyana,
Suriname and Belize, of moderate importance in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago
and of minor importance in St Kitts, Antigua, Montserrat and the Bahamas. Production patterns do not however always accurately
reflect consumption patterns since production in territories such as the
Bahamas, with limited arable land and Montserrat, suffering the after effects
of volcanic eruption, is severely limited and there is heavy reliance on
staples from other CARICOM territories.
Further, the type of staple consumed varies from territory to
territory. Yam, dasheen and cassava,
for example, are among the main staples in Jamaica; yams and sweet potato are
important in Barbados; cassava, cocoyams and sweet potato are important in
Belize and sweet potato is the main root crop consumed in Antigua and Barbuda.
Usage patterns are also influenced by other factors such as dietary
habits of immigrant populations. This
is very evident in Antigua where the “native Antiguan” consumes relatively
little of the tropical starchy staples other than sweet potato, while
inter-island trade supplies the demands of the many immigrants from
neighbouring territories, including the Dominican Republic. Production and usage patterns on a crop
commodity basis in the CARICOM Region are now described.
Bananas and Plantain
Bananas are produced throughout the
Region. However, for the Eastern
Caribbean States, and Belize, Jamaica and Suriname, the export trade in bananas
plays a major role in the domestic economy.
Intraregional exports, especially to Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago,
Barbados, Antigua and St Kitts and Nevis, are also very important. The use of unripe bananas as a staple
facilitates the utilization of glut production, and export-trade quality
rejects, while contributing significantly to food security.
Plantain is produced to a lesser extent
than are bananas throughout the region.
Bananas are used either as a dessert fruit or snack when ripe or as a
staple when unripe, and are consumed in larger quantities than plantain. This is the case in all countries except for
Guyana, where plantain production and utilization is far greater than that of
banana. Bananas produced in Guyana are of variable quality and the consumptive
demand is made up of imports from neighbouring Suriname.
Arrowroot
Arrowroot is economically important in
St Vincent and the Grenadines where it contributes significantly to export
earnings of the agricultural sector.
Annual production levels fluctuate to a large extent from year to year
and this has adversely affected marketing of the product. Despite this however, arrowroot remains an
important part of agricultural production in this territory, largely because of
the special qualities of the starch.
Arrowroot is produced on a far smaller scale in Dominica and Jamaica
where it is comparatively less important.
Along with the export trade of the extracted starch, local processing
and utilization of arrowroot is relatively unsophisticated. Arrowroot processed for local use is
generally consumed as a porridge, a weaning food, or is used in the manufacture
of biscuits.
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is grown as a wayside or
backyard tree in most territories.
However, the extent of its utilization varies throughout the
Region. Of particular importance in
Jamaica, St Lucia, Dominica and St Vincent, it is also exported as fresh
produce from these territories to UK and US markets. Breadfruit is also traded
intraregionally, in the fresh state but further expansion of this trade is
hampered by the poor post-harvest storage characteristics of the fresh fruit.
Breadnut
The production of breadnut is not as
widespread as that of breadfruit. Its
importance is as a result of its ethnic and religious significance to certain
sectors of the population, mainly people of East Indian origin and Hindus. Accordingly, the breadnut is important in
Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and St Vincent where a high proportion of the
population is of East Indian descent.
It is used in Suriname to a lesser extent.
Yams
Among the tropical starchy staples grown in the CARICOM Region, the
yam germplasm is the most diverse. The
genus Dioscorea comprises several
edible species that are distinguishable by such morphological characteristics
as leaf shape and size, stem wings and direction of twining, stem colour,
presence or absence of stem thorns, tuber size, shape and flesh colour, and by
physiological/biochemical characteristics such as length of the growth cycle,
tuber biochemical composition and length of tuber dormancy.
Important yam
species (and some cultivars) in the Caribbean Region include:
- Dioscorea alata (White Lisbon,
Barbados Lisbon, Oriental, Lucie, White Yam, Bottle – neck Lisbon, Belep,
Murapoi, St Vincent Red)
- Dioscorea esculenta (Chinese Yam, Pana Yam)
- Dioscorea cayenensis (Yam a tout
temps, Yellow Yam)
- Dioscorea rotundata (White Yam,
Negro, Ebboe)
- Dioscorea trifida (Cush-cush,
Yampie)
Certain species are preferred over
others in different territories. The YellowYam (Dioscorea cayenensis),
for example, is popular in Jamaica and the northern Caribbean, while D. alata
types are preferred in the Southern and Eastern Caribbean. Jamaica is the world’s largest exporter of
Yellow Yam. Over the years, production
levels of the D. alata types have
declined, mainly as a result of the high incidence of leaf spot disease or
anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.). The field management of anthracnose
incidence through foliar application of fungicides, combined with the switch to
more anthracnose-tolerant varieties have prevented the complete elimination of
production of certain yam types, but production levels have clearly declined in
some territories.
Cassava
Cassava is perhaps the most utilized of the
tropical root crops in the Region.
Additionally, its utilization is the most diversified. This is as a result of the traditional
cassava processing techniques of native Amerindians, such as the Caribs, that
have been passed down through successive generations and are still being
utilized today. Generally, bitter
varieties are more widely produced because of their relatively greater yields
and the quality differences that are believed to make them more suitable for
the production of the traditional processed products. Both bitter and sweet varieties are used in most territories.
Sweet varieties are boiled for direct consumption as a staple or side dish,
while bitter varieties are generally processed. Bitter cassava types have been virtually eliminated in Tobago
since they are responsible for the death of livestock. In Jamaica, on the other hand, it is mainly
bitter cassava that is used for the production of bammy bread while in Guyana;
casareep is prepared only from the bitter cassava.
Sweet Potato
Sweet potato is an important constituent
of the diet in all of the CARICOM territories.
Antigua and St Vincent are among the Region’s largest producers on a per
capita basis. Quantities in excess of
domestic consumption enter the intraregional and extraregional export
trade. The high incidence of pest
attack has severely hampered expansion of production in some cases. The prevalence of the sweet potato borer, Megastes grandalis, resulted in a
dramatic decline in production in Trinidad and Tobago with imported produce
from St Vincent and the Grenadines supplying local demand for decades. More recently, production levels are on the
increase with the introduction of a new cultivar that is very well accepted on
the local market. The West Indian sweet
potato weevil (Euscepes postfasciatus)
and the sweet potato weevil (Cylas
formicarius) are also pests of economic importance in several territories.
Edible Ariods
The extent to which
the tropical starchy staples are utilized in the Region is a function of
population size and traditional food consumption patterns. Thus, the level of
consumption for Montserrat, which lacks data prior to 1999, is extremely small
owing to its reduced population following the evacuation associated with the
volcanic eruption in 1995. Consumption
levels for Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago are comparably much higher. Given the traditional consumption of rice
and wheat flour in the latter territory, however, the tropical starchy staples
contribute only about 10 to 15 percent of the total carbohydrate intake. In Montserrat, on the other hand, these
stapes supply 50 – 60 percent of the caloric requirements of the average adult
(Melissa O’Garro, Ministry of Agriculture, Montserrat, Personal Communication).
Production of the
starchy staples in St Lucia has shown considerable variation over the
years. Annual banana production has
shown a general declining trend from well over 100 000 tonnes in 1990 to 76 000
tonnes in 1979, 80 000 in 1998 and an estimated 71 000 tonnes in 1999. Banana is by far the most important starchy
staple produced followed by breadfruit, a distant second with an average of 2
000 tonnes produced during the last five years. Relatively large quantities of sweet potato are produced with
comparably smaller amounts of plantain, dasheen and tannia. Production levels of cassava and eddoe are
not available and are known to be even less.
In Guyana,
plantain, cassava, yams and sweet potato are the main tropical starchy staples
utilized in addition to rice and wheat flour. Of these crops, cassava is most
widely processed. The main products of
cassava processing are cassava bread, farine, flour, starch and casareep. Aroids are mainly consumed in the boiled
form and eddoes are far more popularly consumed than is dasheen. Similarly, plantains are utilized to a far
greater extent than are bananas.
Dominica exports
bananas, plantain, breadfruit, yam, dasheen and sweet potato both
extraregionally and intraregionally to the neighbouring French territories as
well as to some CARICOM territories. St
Kitts, on the other hand, is a net importer of the starchy staples with
bananas, breadfruit, sweet potato and yams being the most important produce
types consumed. Barbados too is a net
importer of most of the starchy staples.
Banana, plantain, eddoes, yams, dasheen and tannia are imported in the
intraregional trade while sweet potato, yams and, more recently, tannia have
been exported.
Cassava, cocoyam,
sweet potato, banana and plantain are the important starchy staples consumed in
Belize. Cassava is the main staple of
the Garifuna Community and traditional products are prepared by this community
in areas such as Dangriya in the Stann Creek District to the south of the
country. Cocoyams are produced for
export to the USA. Prior to the recent
hurricane disaster, there was an extremely vibrant cocoyam export trade,
fuelled by the demand for the commodity by Cuban immigrants in Florida.
A summary of the
main methods of utilization and the more common processed products manufactured
in each of the territories is given in Tables 2 –10.
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Traditional
Methods of Utilization
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Main
Processed products
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Antigua
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Consumed ripe as snack or dessert fruit.
Unripe, they are boiled and eaten as a side dish or as a main staple with
items like salted fish. Also commonly
included in soups and fish broth.
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-
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Barbados
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Consumed ripe as snack or dessert fruit.
Unripe, they are boiled and eaten as a side dish or as a main staple with
items like salted fish. Also commonly
included in soups and fish broth.
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-
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Bahamas
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Consumed ripe as
a snack or dessert fruit
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Belize
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Consumed ripe as
a snack or dessert fruit
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Banana chips
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Dominica
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Consumed ripe as
a snack or dessert fruit
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Hot sauce,
chips, punch, wine, vinegar
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Grenada
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Used unripe as a
boiled staple, many cooking banana types are utilized, the ripe fruit is used
as a snack or dessert fruit.
|
Banana wine,
Banana punch, Banana Bread, Banana Chips
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Guyana
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Consumed ripe as
a snack or dessert fruit and in drinks like milk shakes
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Banana Chips and
Banana Flour
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Jamaica
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Green bananas
are used as a boiled staple and in dishes such as soups, ripe bananas as a
snack or dessert fruit.
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Banana chips,
sauces, dried banana, cakes, banana based milk drinks, and banana drinks.
|
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Montserrat
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Consumed ripe as a staple or dessert
fruit
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St Kitts
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Consumed ripe as snack or dessert fruit,
the ripe fruit is also used to make fritters when combined with wheat flour
and fried. Unripe, they are boiled and eaten as a side dish or as a main
staple with items like salted fish.
Also commonly included in soups and fish broth and mashed with
milk.
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-
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St Lucia
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Consumed ripe as
a staple or dessert fruit, the unripe fruit is used as a staple.
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Banana chips
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St Vincent
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Consumed ripe as
a staple or dessert fruit, the unripe fruit is used as a staple.
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Banana chips
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Suriname
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Ripe fruit used
as snack or dessert fruit.
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Banana chips
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Trinidad and
Tobago
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Consumed ripe as snack or dessert fruit. Unripe,
they are boiled, fried or roasted and eaten as a side dish, diced or mashed
and incorporated into baked dishes, or as a main staple with salted
fish. Also commonly included in soups
and fish broth. Many ‘cooking banana’
types are utilized
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-
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Methods of Utilization
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Traditional Methods of Utilization
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Main Processed products
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Antiqua
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Manly utilized
ripe and is eaten boiled or fried, unripe bananas are utilized fried by the
Spanish speaking community.
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-
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Barbados
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Mainly utilized
ripe and is eaten boiled or fried
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-
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Bahamas
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Mainly utilized
ripe and is eaten boiled or fried
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-
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Belize
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Used in a wide
variety of ways in both ripe and unripe state. The unripe fruit is boiled and pounded to make fufu or hudut
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Plantain chips
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Dominica
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Mainly utilized
ripe and is eaten boiled or fried
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Plantain chips
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Grenada
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Mainly utilized
ripe and is eaten boiled or fried
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Plantain chips
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Guyana
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Mainly utilized
ripe and is eaten boiled or fried
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Plantain chips
and flour
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Jamaica
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Used both ripe
and unripe, boiled and fried as staples or side dish
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Plantain chips
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Montserrat
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-
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St Kitts
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Mainly utilized
ripe and is eaten boiled or fried
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-
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St Lucia
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Utilized in the
unripe, turning and ripe stage, boiled or fried as a staple or side dish
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Plantain chips
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St Vincent
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Utilized in the
unripe, turning and ripe stage, boiled or fried as a staple or side dish
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Plantain chips
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Suriname
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Eaten ripe and
unripe, boiled or fried as a side dish. Pounded and made into balls for
addition to soups.
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Plantain chips
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Trinidad and
Tobago
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The unripe,
turning or firm ripe fruit is commonly boiled and eaten as a side dish or
along with other staples with vegetables and/or a meat or fish dish. The ripe fruit is sliced longitudinally,
fried until golden brown, and eaten as a side dish or snack.
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Plantain chips
and flour
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|
|
Traditional
Methods of Utilization
|
Main
Processed products
|
|
Antigua
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Used to a very
small extent
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-
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Bahamas
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Used to a very
small extent
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-
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Barbados
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Eaten boiled or
roasted as staple or side dish, made into coo-coo when mashed with butter,
also consumed pickled in dish made with salted meat, cucumbers and lime
juice.
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-
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Belize
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Popularly cooked
with coconut milk and fish. Fried
with eggs and cheese as a breakfast dish
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-
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Dominica
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Used in a
variety of dishes as a staple
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Chips
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Grenada
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Used in a
variety of dishes as a staple
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Chips
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Guyana
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Eaten boiled as
staple or side dish. Popular dish
called metagee made with coconut milk, ochroe, spinach, cassava, meat or fish
|
Flour, chips
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Jamaica
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Eaten boiled or
roasted as staple or side dish
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Roasted and
vacuum packed, chips
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Montserrat
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Used to a very
small extent
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-
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St Kitts
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Boiled and used
as a side dish
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-
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St Lucia
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Used in a
variety of ways as a staple
|
Chips
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St Vincent
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Used in a
variety of ways as a staple
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Chips
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Suriname
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Eaten boiled or
fried as staple or side dish
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Chips
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Trinidad and
Tobago
|
Boiled or
roasted and eaten in small quantities as a side dish or as the main
staple. Sliced and simmered in
coconut milk, with seasonings, other starchy staples and salted meat in a
dish known as ‘oil down’.
|
Chips
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|
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Traditional
Methods of Utilization
|
Main
Processed products
|
|
Antigua
|
-
|
-
|
|
Barbados
|
-
|
-
|
|
Bahamas
|
-
|
-
|
|
Belize
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-
|
-
|
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Dominica
|
The mature seeds are boiled and eaten as a snack
|
-
|
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Grenada
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Seeds boiled and
eaten as a snack
|
-
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Guyana
|
Cleaned, shredded immature whole fruit (minus peel
and core) is curried and used as an accompaniment to a staple like rice or
roti (wheat bread). The mature seeds
are boiled and eaten as a snack
|
-
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|
Jamaica
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-
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-
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Monsterrat
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-
|
-
|
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St Kitts
|
-
|
-
|
|
St Lucia
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-
|
-
|
|
St Vincent
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-
|
-
|
|
Suriname
|
The mature seeds are boiled and eaten as a snack
|
-
|
|
Trinidad and
Tobago
|
Cleaned, shredded immature whole fruit (minus peel
and core) is curried and used as an accompaniment to a staple like rice or
roti (wheat bread). The mature seeds
are boiled and eaten as a snack
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
Traditional
Methods of Utilization
|
Main
Processed products
|
|
Antigua
|
As a boiled
staple
|
-
|
|
Barbados
|
As a boiled
staple and mashed with butter then baked.
|
-
|
|
Bahamas
|
Used as a boiled
staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
Belize
|
Very little is
used
|
-
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|
Dominica
|
Used as a boiled
staple or side dish
|
-
|
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Grenada
|
Boiled as a
staple, added to soups and similar dishes
|
-
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|
Guyana
|
Used as a boiled
staple
|
Yam flour on a
small scale
|
|
Jamaica
|
Boiled, then
fried, roasted and used as staple or side dish.
|
Frozen yam
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Montserrat
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Used as a boiled
staple or side dish
|
-
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St Kitts
|
Boiled and used
as staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
St Lucia
|
Boiled and used
as staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
St Vincent
|
Boiled and used
as staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
Suriname
|
Used to a small
extent, boiled and used as a staple or side dish, also sliced or mashed and
seasoned.
|
-
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|
Trinidad and
Tobago
|
Boiled and used
sliced or mashed and seasoned as a side dish. Used as an ingredient in soups.
|
Yam flour on a
very small scale
|
|
|
|
|
|
Traditional
Methods of Utilization
|
Main
Processed products
|
|
Antigua
|
Boiled and eaten
as a staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
Barbados
|
Boiled and eaten
as a staple or side dish, also made into a baked pudding called pone that is
very popular around Independence celebrations.
|
-
|
|
Bahamas
|
Boiled and
eaten as a staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
Belize
|
Popularly used
boiled and mashed. Boiled as a staple
or side dish
|
Cassava bread,
cassava chips
|
|
Dominica
|
Boiled as a
staple or side dish
|
Farine
|
|
Grenada
|
Boiled and eaten
as staple or as a side dish
|
Farine, cassava
bread, cassava biscuits, cassava flour
|
|
Guyana
|
Boiled as
staple, freshly grated cassava is added to wheat flour and made into roti
|
Cassava bread,
farine, casareep, flour, starch
|
|
Jamaica
|
Small quantities
are utilized boiled
|
Bammy, starch
|
|
Monsterrat
|
-
|
-
|
|
St Kitts
|
Boiled and used
as a staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
St Lucia
|
Boiled and used
as a staple or side dish
|
Farine
|
|
St Vincent
|
Boiled and used
as a staple or side dish
|
Farine, starch
|
|
Suriname
|
Boiled or boiled
then fried, used as a staple or side dish. Cassava pudding or bojo
|
Chips, farine,
cassava bread, fermented drinks. Frozen cassava
|
|
Trinidad and
Tobago
|
Tubers of sweet
cassava are eaten boiled, or fried after boiling as a main staple or as a
side dish. When it no longer has acceptable cooking quality it is made into
cassava pone, a baked pudding that also contains coconut and pumpkin, or is
mixed with wheat flour to make cassava dumplings.
|
Cassava chips,
farine, cassava flour, cassava bread, starch cakes
|
|
|
|
|
|
Traditional
Methods of Utilization
|
Main
Processed products
|
|
Antigua
|
Boiled as a
staple, doukana, and sweet potato pudding
|
-
|
|
Barbados
|
Boiled as a
staple, made into pies, added to soups and made into french fries
|
-
|
|
Bahamas
|
Boiled as a
staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
Belize
|
Boiled and eaten
as a staple
|
-
|
|
Dominica
|
Eaten boiled as
a staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
Grenada
|
Boiled and eaten
as a staple
|
Sweet potato
pudding
|
|
Guyana
|
Boiled as a
staple, freshly grated and added to wheat flour and made into roti
|
Chips and flour
|
|
Jamaica
|
Boiled or boiled
then fried and used as a staple
|
Chips
|
|
Montserrat
|
Eaten boiled as
a staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
St Kitts
|
Boiled, made
into sweet potato pan cakes, or made into pudding with wheat flour, spices
and sugar, made into conkey (mixture boiled in banana leaves)
|
-
|
|
St Lucia
|
Eaten boiled as
a staple or side dish
|
Chips
|
|
St Vincent
|
Eaten boiled as
a staple or side dish
|
Chips
|
|
Suriname
|
Boiled and used
as a staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
Trinidad and
Tobago
|
Mainly eaten as a vegetable, after boiling, baking
or frying. It is also commonly used
in soups.
|
Chips
|
|
|
|
|
|
Traditional
Methods of Utilization
|
Main
Processed products
|
|
Antigua
|
Eddoes mainly
utilized in soups, tannia used boiled as a side dish, dasheen used mainly by
migrant population
|
-
|
|
Barbados
|
Eddoes used as a
side dish, dasheen not very popular but used mainly in soups by the older
members of the population.
|
-
|
|
Bahamas
|
Used boiled as a
staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
Belize
|
Tannia (cocoyam)
is used as a staple while eddoes and dasheen are used very little.
|
Tannia chips
(cocoyam)
|
|
Dominica
|
Dasheen, eddoes
and tannia are utilized as boiled staples
|
-
|
|
Grenada
|
Used boiled as a
staple or side dish
|
Dasheen chips
|
|
Guyana
|
Used on a small
scale as a staple, More eddoes, dasheen not popular
|
-
|
|
Jamaica
|
Dasheen is
boiled and then fried, added to soups and used as a staple or side dish.
|
Dasheen chips,
frozen dasheen
|
|
Montserrat
|
|
|
|
St Kitts
|
Boiled as staple
or side dish
|
-
|
|
St Lucia
|
Used boiled as a
staple or side dish
|
|
|
St Vincent
|
Used boiled as a
staple or side dish
|
-
|
|
Suriname
|
Dasheen and
eddoe are boiled and used as a staple in soups and with salted fish. Dasheen
is baked into a dish called ‘pomtayer’ with meat added and used at Christmas
and special occasions.
|
-
|
|
Trinidad and
Tobago
|
Used boiled as a side dish or in soups. The boiled
tubers are sometimes sliced and then fried for use as a side dish or
snack. To a far lesser extent, tannia
is grated raw, seasoned with minced herbs and condiments, made into cakes and
fried in oil.
|
Dasheen chips on
very small pilot scale in Tobago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Traditional
Methods of Utilization
|
Main
Processed products
|
|
Antigua
|
-
|
-
|
|
Barbados
|
-
|
-
|
|
Bahamas
|
-
|
-
|
|
Belize
|
-
|
-
|
|
Dominica
|
Porridge,
weaning foods
|
Starch
|
|
Grenada
|
-
|
-
|
|
Guyana
|
-
-
|
-
|
|
Jamaica
|
Porridge, roots
drink
|
-
|
|
Montserrat
|
-
|
-
|
|
St Kitts
|
-
|
-
|
|
St Lucia
|
-
|
-
|
|
St Vincent
|
Porridge
|
Mandongo
biscuits, starch
|
|
Suriname
|
-
|
-
|
|
Trinidad and
Tobago
|
Porridge
|
-
|
II. ROLE OF STARCHY STAPLES IN THE FOOD
SECURITY AND NUTRITION OF THE CARICOM REGION
Contribution to
Regional Food Security
The agricultural
sector of the CARICOM Region is, perhaps more than ever, now faced with the
challenge of increasing its food supply through domestic agricultural
production. Increasing populations,
changing and threatened economies and increasing levels of unemployment,
especially among young adults, are forcing a refocusing on agricultural
production as an alternative source of employment, and generating a conscious
effort by governments to diversify away from the traditional dependence on
crops such as sugarcane and banana.
Along with this, issues of food security and self-sufficiency have to be
addressed in light of the high food import bills and non-sustainable sources of
foreign exchange.
Issues relating to
the changing global economic environment and its potential effect on the well
being of the population of the CARICOM Region have not been ignored. Globalization and trade liberalization have
been viewed as potential threats to the economic survival of the region, but
concerted efforts at dealing with these developments have not always been
evident or reflected in government policies.
The prevailing view that developing countries have little to gain by
these developments is reflected in the concluding statement made by Ramraj
(1997) “Globalization and trade liberalization have been promoted as the
double-edged sword to achieve food security.
It is nowadays very fashionable to refer to the GLOBAL VILLAGE. We in the 3rd World have to be
careful that it doesn’t backfire and we end up on a GLOBAL PLANTATION”.
Food security refers to a situation in which the food
production and distribution system ensures sustained food supply in sufficient
quantity and quality at the national level, as well as universal access by all
segments of the population to provide for the full physical and intellectual
development of the population (FAO, 1988).
Bocage (2000) has defined food security as “access by all people at all
times to the food required for healthy life.
Wilson (1997) in his discussion of the issues relating to the attainment
of sustainable food security in the Region recognized the importance of
economic growth to the process: “Several complex, interrelated factors have
contributed to poverty in the Caribbean.
These include low economic growth, macro-economic instability,
deficiencies in the labour market resulting in limited job growth, low
productivity and low wages in the informal sector, and a decline in the quality
of social services. Accordingly, the
World Bank report concludes that those countries that have sustained high
economic growth rates over time and invested heavily in the social sectors have
achieved relatively low rates of poverty in the range 5-15 percent (for
example, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, and St Kitts and Nevis
with tourism-based economies). There is
no doubt that economic growth is fundamental to poverty reduction. Growth must
occur in the rural areas, where chronic poverty and food insecurity persists
among small farmers, unskilled workers and unemployed youth. Moreover, it has been demonstrated in many
societies that enhancing agricultural production and productivity is the key to
increasing such rural economic growth.
In its absence, rural areas are deserted, and rural societies
disseminated.” Wilson (1997) identified seven priority areas for action to
achieve improved food security in Trinidad and Tobago, and by extension, in the
Region. These were i) policy support to
create the appropriate macro-economic environment ii) research to improve
post-harvest practices iii) introduction of small- and large-scale
technological improvements iv) provision of adequate infrastructure for the
smooth flow of food from producer to consumer v) training of extension workers
and trainers in the post-harvest sector vi) provision of private sector support
for access to market information and vii) farmer support to encourage producers
to respond to market trends.
Self-sufficiency is the extent to which a country
sources its food from domestic production as opposed to imports. On a regional basis, rice, wheat and maize,
the major of the cereals consumed, are imported. The Region’s major
carbohydrate source therefore continues to be a drain on its economic
resources. One way of increasing food
security while reducing the strain on the country’s food import bill is by
increasing the production of energy rich food crops like the starchy
staples. The role of tropical starchy
staples as an inexpensive source of cheap food for the socio-economically
disadvantaged is well established.
Specifically, the tropical root crops are known to generate relatively
large yields per unit area of land or labour input and to yield under
conditions where agricultural inputs are not used, where technological levels
are low and where land is marginal through low soil water levels (cassava) or
swampy conditions (wetland dasheen). Chandra (1991) commenting on the food
supply potential of tropical root crops said “The strategy to increase the
supply of tropical root crops as fresh food can only be employed if supplies
are almost entirely from domestic production.
This is because none of the LDC’s is able to regularly source the
foreign exchange cost of importing large amounts of imported staple foods,
besides there are the problems of bulk, perishability, freight costs and
taxes”. Increasing the regional production of starchy staples would not only
allow for allocation of limited foreign exchange to be channelled into more
critical areas of concern, but would also provide opportunities for local food
processors to find creative ways of adding value to these crops as a means of
increasing their utilization.
In the CARICOM
Region, as it is throughout the tropical world, availability of locally
produced agricultural commodities is dependent on post-harvest maintenance of
quality. Where processing options are limited, the shelf life of fresh produce
has a direct effect on food security. Most tropical fruits and vegetables are
very highly perishable; bananas, plantains, breadfruit and breadnut fall within
this category. Fortunately, their pattern of production ensures that yield is
spread throughout the year even in rainfed systems in the Region, making them
extremely important to national food security.
In contrast, the tropical root crops are less
highly perishable when properly stored. Among the root crops, yams have the
best storage potential with the natural period of dormancy contributing to a
shelf life of up to three months under tropical ambient conditions for some
cultivars with the potential for even greater extension of the shelf life by
the use of growth regulators and reduced temperature storage. Cassava also has
a relatively short shelf life. However, storage under moist conditions can give
considerable extension in shelf life.
Further, the crop is unique in that it can be left in the ground for
considerable periods without spoilage or rotting. This allows for harvesting to be done only when the tubers are
required, reducing the risk of post-harvest losses. When stored in this way, the levels of hydrocyanic glucoside
increase in the tubers and there is often loss in cooking quality with time as
well depending on the prevailing weather pattern during the storage
period. However, stored tubers can be
processed into all traditional products.
This makes the cassava one of the more important crops for the
improvement of national food security in the Region.
In addition to
the storage characteristics of the fresh tuber, the excellent storage potential
of processed products like farine and some types of cassava bread which are
stored successfully from one crop to the next and which have a potential shelf
life that is far greater than the length of the growing period of the crop, is
also important. Farine is a very
durable product if it is dried to the required low moisture content and if that
low moisture content is maintained during storage. When properly prepared and
stored farine can be stored for in excess of one year. Therefore, along with
cassava bread, it is an excellent choice for a processed product from cassava
for extending product availability and thus, food security.
Unlike for
cassava, the successful production of yam is dependent on several costly
inputs. Yams yield best on fertile lands rich in organic matter and are very
demanding of potassium. They have a growth cycle of 9 to 11 months and so prime
agricultural land is normally unavailable for other cultivation for a
relatively long time. However, the
innate dormancy in yam gives it an important advantage over other tropical root
crops since it serves as a natural storage period making post-harvest
management easier than for the other tropical root crops.
Sweet potato can
also make a significant contribution to food security. Although it does not have good storage
characteristics over the long term, its short growing season, averaging 4-5
months, facilitates the production of multiple crops and negates the need for
long-term storage. The value of sweet
potato, both as a food source for direct consumption and processing and as an
industrial input is well recognized even in industrial countries. In Japan, for example, the sweet potato crop
is prized for its ability to withstand environmental hazards such as typhoons,
drought and excessive rainfall, as is common to central and southern regions of
Japan, and produce acceptable yields (Osamu and Yamakawa, 1998). The annual
production of sweet potato in Japan is 1.2 million tonnes. Per capita
consumption of sweet potato in Japan in the 1940’s was 15 kg but is currently 5
kg with its main form of utilization as a side dish on dessert. Sweet potato
produced is used for food and the manufacture of starch for industrial uses.
Approximately 50 percent of sweet potato is used for direct consumption as food
and 25 percent is used in the starch industry.
The sweet potato crop is still considered an important crop for food
security and an underexploited resource therefore new ways are being sought for
cultivation and utilization systems for sweet potato to achieve sustainability
(Ibid). The relevance of this crop to the food security of less developed areas
like the CARICOM Region should be even more evident.
Eddoes too, have a
relatively short growth cycle of 5-6 months. With such characteristics as good
ground cover and a fibrous root system providing soil conservation measures on
highland slopes, along with good yields on moderately fertile soils, eddoes are
an excellent crop for inclusion in regional food security programs. Dasheen, like yam and cassava, has a long
growth season. However, it has
relatively poor storage characteristics.
Nevertheless it makes an important contribution to food security because
of two main advantages: 1) the abundance of planting material produced during
the growth of the crop and 2) the ability of the plant to yield well in areas
with a high water table, flooded, but non-stagnant conditions, and areas with
generally high soil moisture contents.
The tropical root
crops already provide rural and household food security because of the way in
which they are produced. However, many
traditional problems have to be dealt with if they are to make a greater
contribution to regional food security.
These include:
i. production
systems and their constraints;
ii. planting
material – availability and quality;
iii seasonality
of production and supply;
iv. fluctuating yields;
v. high incidence of pests and diseases;
vi. lack of adequate infrastructure;
vii. post-harvest storage considerations;
viii. marketing;
ix. utilization methods – product
development.
These traditional
issues can be solved through the application of new technologies to old
problems. Technologies such as
propagation by tissue culture, yam minisett technology and integrated pest
management are already making an impact while others such as gene replacement
technology and germplasm resource expansion, along with various processing
options offer hope for future improvements.
Several constraints to the application of new technologies exist. Two
main constraints being (i) the effective transfer of technology to small
farmers and (ii) traditional production systems coupled with small farm size. The more
technical issues such as lack of adequate infrastructure, provision and
upgrading of post-harvest storage facilities, establishment of adequate
marketing systems and further development and enhancement of utilization
methods need to be addressed with the assistance of governmental and other
relevant agencies given the extensive capital outlay necessary.
Thus, several
measures will have to be implemented in order for the tropical starchy staples
to make an even greater contribution to regional food security, while
continuing to generate foreign income and increased employment. There must be
an overall increase in production levels on a regional basis concomitant with
an improved regional marketing system. Value-added products that should be
produced from these staples must be clearly identified. Quality standards for
these products should be well developed and established, and the regions of
production must be determined in accordance with the level of technology at
which the operation will function and the volume of production required to
satisfy the market requirements. In all cases, efforts should be made to establish
markets at both regional and extra-regional levels. A proper balance must be
achieved between the level of technology, the magnitude of manual input, the
cost of capital investment, overall cost of production and the generation of
employment. In some cases, success will be dependent on improvement in
infrastructure in rural areas – roads, electricity, water and
communication. Generally, the
availability of these amenities reduces the tendency for migration to urban
areas, a major complication in the Region, along with the increasing trend of
movement of employment away from agriculture.
There is therefore, the challenge of wooing individuals back to the
practice of agricultural production in order to generate the raw materials that
will contribute to the attainment of improved food self-sufficiency.
No effort should however be spared in dealing
with the issue since attaining a greater measure of regional food
self-sufficiency is one of, if not the major way in which this Region can
alleviate poverty and improve income distribution on a regional basis. But it cannot happen without supportive
governmental policies that facilitate the implementation of changes necessary
to achieve sustainability of production and utilization.
Throughout the
region, all national governments have policies that are supportive of
agriculture and in recent years there has been more stated support for
agro-processing as part of the agricultural diversification thrust. General promotion of the manufacturing
sector in order to generate foreign exchange earnings is a common feature of
the economies of CARICOM territories. The manufacture of value-added products
for the starchy staples is included in this.
There is, therefore, indirect government policy support for further
production and utilization of the starchy staples through measures or policies
that apply to all locally produced commodities and products. Such measures include the absence of
government consumption tax on all locally produced food products in Jamaica,
the emphasis on increasing local production in Belize, and the award of the
Prime Minister’s award for manufacturing (including food processing) in
Trinidad and Tobago.
The workplan of
the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Cooperatives, Belize for the year 2000
stated that the programme “ aims to alleviate poverty by enhancing food
security, income generation and productive employment, as well as organization
of the productive sectors while conserving and improving our natural
resources.” Cocoyam (tannia) was included in the planned expansion of the
export of non-traditional commodities through a priority project to establish
an additional 600 acres for the domestic and export market. In Jamaica the emphasis has been on tree
crop production targeting crops that can be processed. Breadfruit is included along with other tree
crops like ackee. In most territories the support for the increased production
of the starchy staples has been through specific programmes. For example, CARDI, in collaboration with
local ministries of agriculture, has embarked on a project to increase root
crop production by small farmers in the OECS. Particularly, planting material
for anthracnose-tolerant yams has been multiplied and released to farmers.
Altogether then,
the tropical starchy staples are set to become increasingly important in food
security, employment and foreign income generation if current and proposed
measures at agricultural diversification are successful.
Nutritionally, the
main value of the tropical starchy staples lies is their potential ability to
provide one of the cheapest sources of dietary energy, in the form of
carbohydrates, along with moderate amounts of protein. Recent surveys show that few people in
tropical countries suffer from a simple protein deficiency. Protein-energy deficiency, in which an
overall energy deficiency forces the metabolism to utilize the limited intake
of protein as a source of energy, is most prevalent (FAO, 1990). Under such
circumstances root crops and other starchy staples can play a most critical
role as sources of dietary energy and protein.
Increasing the consumption of locally grown starchy staples could help
save the much-needed protein provided essentially by other foods such as
cereals and legumes.
Apart from
protein, these foods also provide significant sources of fibre, minerals and
vitamins. The effect of dietary fibre
is to regulate gastro-intestinal function through reduction in the rate of
digestion, production of fermentation products for the maintenance of
populations of beneficial bacteria, and prevent constipation by increasing
faecal bulk. Health benefits of fibre
ingestion include anti-carcinogenic effects through the acceleration of elimination
of digestive mass from the colon and anti-arteriosclerotic effects through the
reduction of LDL cholesterol levels (Sinha, 1991; 1992; CFNI, 1994)
The consumption of
complex carbohydrates has been recommended as a preventive measure in the fight
against the development of coronary heart disease and non-insulin-dependent
diabetes (Sinha, 1993). Given the high
incidence of these diseases in the CARICOM Region, the increased consumption of
the tropical starchy staples with a concomitant reduction in the intake of fats
could provide immeasurable health benefits.
The tropical
starchy staples can also be used to great benefit in the diets of persons
affected by coeliac disease, also called celiac sprue, gluten enteropathy,
sprue, which is intolerance to gluten, the protein found in wheat, oats, rye,
barley and other grains. In some cases the sensitivity is so intense that there
is response to even small quantities of grain protein. Coeliac disease is characterized by a
decrease in the absorption of carbohydrates, fats, protein, minerals and vitamins
from the digestive tract because of the destruction of intestinal villi. Common manifestations in severe cases
include weight loss, growth failure, muscle wasting and other signs of
malnutrition. The exact cause of the
disorder is still unknown but it appears to be an inherited disease with a
possible cause being an abnormal immune system response. Treatment is by the
complete exclusion of gluten from the diet.
Therefore, there is tremendous opportunity for the use of tropical
starchy staples as food ingredients in the manufacture of gluten-free products
such as bakery items, pasta and sauces, for the specialty market for affected
individuals
The nutritional composition of the
tropical starchy staples is given in Table 11.
Some of these crops also contain antinutritional factors that may have
an important effect on nutrition or health.
The toxic potential of cassava is the most significant issue.
Cyanide
Toxicity in Cassava
The potential for
cyanide poisoning from the consumption of cassava and its products is well
known. Tubers of all cassava cultivars
contain two cyanogenic glucosides, linamarin and lotaustralin. Relative quantities of these cyanogenic
glucosides however show variation among cultivars, with the ‘sweet’ types
containing very low levels and the ‘bitter’ types containing relatively higher
levels. Bitterness is not always a
reliable means of distinguishing between cassava varieties having high levels
of the glucosides. Cyanogenic glucoside
levels are usually highest in the peel and increase in the storage tissue from
the center of the tuber outwards. In the intact tuber, the glucosides are
stored within the cell while the hydrolytic enzyme, linamarase which converts
linamarin to acetone cyanohydrin, which is in turn converted to acetone and
hydrocyanic acid (HCN), is stored in the cell wall. Thus, any processing step that results in the crushing or
separating of cells placing substrate in contact with enzyme, leads to the
production of HCN. HCN is soluble in
water and is extremely volatile, vaporizing at temperatures above 28ºC.