Resilience of breadfruit agro-ecosystems in Hawai'i during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is interrupting domestic and global food supply chains resulting in reduced access to healthy diverse diets. Hawai'i has been described as a model social-ecological system and it has been suggested that indigenous agro-ecosystems have the potential to be highly productive and resilient under changing land-use and climate change disturbance. However, little research has yet been conducted exploring the disruption and resilience of agro-ecosystems in Hawai'i caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The breadfruit tree (Artocarpus altilis; Moraceae) is a signature, multi-purpose-tree of the complex perennial agro-ecosystems systems in Oceania.

This case study explores the ways in which the breadfruit agro-ecosystems of Hawai'i have shown resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our study suggests that breadfruit has increased its value as a subsistence crop during the COVID-19 pandemic, even in a developed economy like Hawai'i, and that resilience of Hawaiian breadfruit agroe-cosystems during a crisis can be supported through cooperatives and food-hubs.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43170-022-00125-3.