Vanilla farmer Jao Nasaina holds a spear and a handmade gun as he patrols at his plantation, to guard the crop against thieves, in Ambavala, near Andapa, Sava region, Madagascar July 14, 2018. REUTERS/Clarel Faniry Rasoanaivo
AMBAVALA, Madagascar (Reuters) - Soaring global prices of vanilla should have been good news for Jao Nasaina, a 58-year-old farmer of the luxury spice on the northeast tip of Madagascar.
Instead, it has brought poverty, stress and sleepless nights patrolling his little patch of jungle with a spear and home-made pistol to ward off the thieves who sneak in to hack off the prized pods under cover of darkness.
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