Government has been urged to pay more attention to breadfruit, a multi-purpose tree, which could serve as a substitute for wheat flour and Irish potatoes.

According to First Avenue International, a firm that promotes agriculture through collaborations with institutions of higher learning, Ghana stands to save up to US$135 million annually if it pays critical attention to the cultivation and processing of breadfruit.

“What we are really talking about is for Ghana to grow and process breadfruit into a few products. This will be really huge for Ghana because the government has been trying to reduce the amount it spends on importation of wheat flour,” said Tacarra D. Birmingham, President of First Avenue International.

She added: “It will be great if the government can get more involved as we move forward. We have got information, and we have got good structures in place, but the only way we can scale this out is when we have the full support of the government. I think it will be a great disadvantage if they do not get involved,”

Ms. Birmingham said this in Accra, during a breadfruit information workshop. It was organised by Africa Breadfruit Initiative, in collaboration with Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI), National Tropical Botanical Garden, Global Breadfruit, Agrivida Support and Government of Ghana.

Despite the introduction of a Composite Flour Policy in 2012, the country still spends about more than US$2 billion on importing wheat flour annually.

The composite flour policy is aimed at reducing wheat flour by 50 percent, which will translates into a savings of foreign currency of about US$5billion annually.

According to research, replacing wheat flour with 20 percent non-wheat flour (composite flour) for the manufacture of bakery products would result in an estimated savings of US$2 billion annually to Ghana. It will also create thousands of jobs for Ghanaians.

Josh Schneider of Global Breadfruit, a research firm, explained that if the country replaces its demand for wheat flour and potatoes by planting 2000 breadfruit trees, it can drastically save several millions of Cedis in the next three years, while creating jobs for the youth.

“There are challenges, some are logistical whilst others have to do with marketing. But we want to engage hotels, restaurants, schools, research institutions and people to be interested in buying breadfruits locally. So we have to try to create opportunities for farmers because this is a multi-purpose fruit,” he added.

To date, the Africa Breadfruit Initiative has provided over 3,000 seedlings to partners in Ghana. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss best practices for agricultural productivity, highlight ongoing market efforts in the region and analyse economic prospects of breadfruit for Ghana.

Breadfruit can be used for many products, including chips, ‘npotompoto,’ pancake, cookies, French fried, bread flour, custard and juice. It can also be used for treating liver cancer whilst the flowers of the tree can also be use as mosquito repellent.