Tobacco Act Prohibits Potato, Tomato Cultivation in Maldives

Source from:  Haveeru Online  12/25/2012

The new tobacco control Act would ban cultivation of potato and tomato in the Maldives as cultivating any species of the tobacco family is prohibited under the Act.

The Article on cultivating and producing tobacco prohibits cultivation of any species of the tobacco family in the Maldives. There are about 90 genera and about 2,600 species in the tobacco family known as 'Solanaceae' which includes important vegetables such as potato, brinjal, tomato and peppers.

Assistant Director of the Agricultural Ministry Mohamed Naseem said on Monday that the new Act would prohibit cultivation of potato and tomato in the Maldives. While stressing that the issue must be revised, he added that it had now been brought to the attention of the Health Ministry.

Agriculture Ministry had met the Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) over the matter.

Haveeru has been unable to obtain a comment from CCHDC thus far. Enditem