Betel leaf harvesting is a booming and lucrative business, bringing in a small, but steady income to every household in the island, farmers in AA. Thoddoo Island says.
Betel leaves are cultivated in every single household in the island famous for its farming, yielding a monthly income of over MVR 4,000 for each family, farmers in the island said.
The harvested betel leaves are shipped to Male for sale, with a bunch of betel leaves sold between MVR5 and MVR50, they said. They added that around four baskets of leaves are harvested, six days a week.
Betel leaf plant is a creeper grown in the tropics and belong to pepper family, and betel leaves are used for medicinal and culinary purposes.
A betel quid is the name given to small parcels that typically contain areca nuts, wrapped in a betel leaf coated with slaked lime. Betel quids are predominantly chewed in parts of South Asia, including India, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.