Chili supplies dwindle in Male market as Thoddoo farmers turn to cucumber cultivation

MALE, May 15 (HNS) -- Chili supplies in the Male market are dwindling because farmers from Thoddoo island have turned to cucumber cultivation instead, according to suppliers. Thoddoo, in North Ari Atoll and famous for its production of watermelons and a host of other agricultural products, used to supply the capital of 70,000 people with an amount of 25,000 chilies on a daily basis earlier. At the time, combined with chilies from other islands, the price of a chili dropped to less than 50 Laari (cents). However, most farmers in Thoddoo have stopped chili cultivation and the island now delivers only about "two to three bags" of chili to Male daily, officials said. Thoddoo Island Chief Ibrahim Waheed told Haveeru that at any given time, Thoddoo people "preferred to cultivate the product which fetches the highest price in the prevailing markets." "Chili cultivation is a costly occupation. On top of that, it does not fetch us very good prices," he told Haveeru over telephone. "People have now turned to cultivating cucumber instead," he said. However, he said that a few farmers have returned to chili cultivation because prices of chili have risen again in the Male market due to the dwindling supply as a result of most Thoddoo farmers turning towards cucumber cultivation.