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The bitter side of Madagascar's vanilla business

The vanilla trade is big business in Madagascar, so authorities have taken a tough stance on its theft. Crime involving vanilla can lead to imprisonment, often in appalling conditions. As the 麻豆社's Pumza Fihlani finds out.

(Photo: Armed guards look after a pile of vanilla in a Vanilla farmer barn in the municipality of Bemalamatra, Madagascar. Credit: Rija Solo/AFP/Getty Images)

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Duration:

7 minutes