"Its aroma is more pointed": Mayotte relies on vanilla to develop its agriculture

Little known, Mayotte vanilla is nevertheless one of the pearls of the French archipelago . From pods to powder, syrup, body oil and flavored salt, Mahorais vanilla is invited in all possible forms to the Salon de l'agriculture , which recently opened its doors in Paris.

"Around five tonnes of green vanilla" are harvested each year in Mayotte, corresponding to "less than a tonne" of black vanilla, explains Ibrahim Fonte, head of the Plant Department at the Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture of Mayotte (CAPAM).

Emblematic of Mayotte know-how, local production is nevertheless far from equaling that of the neighboring island of Reunion and its four annual tons of black vanilla. Some 300 kilometers from Mayotte, we must especially count on Madagascar, the undisputed giant of vanilla which reigns on the world market with several thousand annual tons.

For Mahoran vanilla, it is impossible to play in the same category as the Malagasy behemoth – but the archipelago does not have the ambition, with an offbeat strategy.

"We targeted the quality" of vanilla rather than the quantity, emphasizes Ibrahim Fonte.

Mayotte vanilla is now mainly distributed on local markets. This qualitative strategy, associated with retail sales, brings "greater added value" for Mayotte vanilla, rather than trying to "approach international markets" where it would have no chance against the low Malagasy production costs, explains Ibrahim Fonte.

"As long as we are not concerned with quantity, producers have time to properly value the production, to take the time to process it," summarizes the representative of the Mahorais chamber of agriculture.

After a golden age in the 1970s, the local sector collapsed in the 2000s. It has been recovering in recent years thanks to the Saveurs et Senteurs de Mayotte association, which now brings together several dozen producers.

Symbol of a return to grace, Mahoran vanilla has won several silver medals in the latest editions of the Concours général agricole (CGA). To produce his medal-winning vanilla, Mohamadi Ahamada prefers the heat of the sun. "Its aroma is sharper," praises the producer and processor from Tsingoni, in the west of Grande-Terre.

"We hope that this year will be the year of our gold medal," believes Mohamadi Ahamada.

But the passage of cyclone Chido hit local plantations hard , while the pods were almost ripe. "The vanilla was razed," laments Ibrahim Fonte, mentioning "zero" production for the current campaign. Before seeing new pods grow, Mayotte will have to wait about three years, the time needed for flowers to appear on the vines.