Agriculture in Tuvalu
Agriculture in Tuvalu is based on coconut and swamp taro,, which is similar to taro but "with bigger leaves and larger, coarser roots"; taro is also cultivated in Tuvalu.
Bananas and breadfruit are supplemental crops. The dried flesh of the coconut is the main agricultural export of Tuvalu, with other agricultural products consumed locally. Because of the young geological age of the reef islands and atolls and high level of soil salination the soils is relatively poor. Wealth and status in traditional Tuvaluan culture was determined by possession of pulaka and taro pits and coconut trees.
Traditional use of broadleaf forest
Charles Hedley identified the uses of plants and trees that were harvested from the native broadleaf forest as including:- Food plants: Coconut; and Ferra, native fig.
- Fibre: Coconut; Ferra; Fala, Screw Pine, Pandanus; Fau or Fo fafini, or woman's fibre tree.
- Timber: Fau or Fo fafini; Pouka, ; Ngia or Ingia bush, ; Miro, ; Tonga,.
- Dye: Valla valla, ; Tonga, ; and Nonou,.
- Scent: Fetau, ; Jiali, ; and Boua ; Valla valla, ; and Crinum.
- Medicinal: Tulla tulla, ; Nonou, ; Tausoun, ; Valla valla, ; Talla talla gemoa fern, ; Lou, ; and Lakoumonong,.
Coconut
The cuisine of Tuvalu, is based on the staple of coconut which is used in different forms with coconut water, coconut milk and the flesh of the coconut being used to flavour dishes. Various desserts made on the islands include coconut and coconut milk, instead of the animal milk. Apart from its food value coconut palm leaves and wood have traditional uses as building materials.From the mid 19th century traders in Tuvalu were active in the acquisition of copra and coconut oil, which were mainly used to manufactured into other products. In 1892 Captain Davis of, reported on trading activities and traders on each of the islands visited:
| Island | Production | Annual export of copra |
| Nukulaelae | Copra, taro, popoi, a few bananas, a little sugar cane | About 10 tons copra |
| Funafuti | Copra, taro, pulaka, Bananas, sugar cane, bread fruit | About 25 to 30 tons of copra |
| Nukufetau | Copra, taro, pulaka, pandanus, a little sugar cane, a few bananas | About twenty tons copra |
| Nui | Copra, taro, pulaka, pandanus, a few bananas, a very little sugar cane and bread fruit. | About 100 tons of copra - in a good year |
| Niutao | Copra, taro, pulaka, pandanus | About 50 tons copra - in a good year |
| Nanumaga | Copra, taro, pandanus | 15 to 20 tons copra - in a good year |
| Nanumea | Copra, pandanus, taro | 30 to 40 tons copra |
| Vaitupu | Copra, taro, pulaka, pandanus | About 50 tons copra |
In modern times there is lower demand for copra and coconut oil as other commodities can be substituted for what were the earlier uses of these products.
Pulaka
Grown in large pits of composted soil below the water table, pulaka is the main source for carbohydrates. Pulaka makes up the bulk of the islanders' traditional diet; it is usually supplemented by fish. Since the unprocessed corms are toxic, they must always be cooked, usually in an earth oven. The pulaka pits are at risk from increasing sea levels, which increase saltwater levels subsoil in the atolls and islands of Tuvalu. On Fongafale islet of Funafuti a survey of the pits that have previously been used to grow pulaka established that the pits were either too saline or very marginal for swamp taro production, although a more salt tolerant species of taro was being grown in Fongafale.Changes in diet
Besides rising saltwater levels, "changing lifestyles and eating habits" also threaten the cultivation of the crop, a process that began during and after World War II, when American occupying troops supplied the islands with imported foods and many pulaka pits are no longer maintained. Imported foods are often high in sugar, leading also to an increase in the need for dental care.The Tuvaluans benefited from the canned food supplied by the American forces, although the change in diet continued after the war, which resulted in long term impacts on health. Tuvaluans adopted a diet that includes high levels of corned beef, rice and sugar. This food is consumed even when fish and traditional vegetables are available. This diet is believed to contribute to increasing levels of diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases among Tuvaluans.
On Funafuti, the Fatoaga Fiafia Garden grows vegetables, including cucumbers, beans, pumpkins and Chinese cabbages, and tests salt-tolerant crops, such as a hybrid pawpaw.