Madagascar’s Rare Wild Pepper Faces Extinction Threat as Forests Disappear

A rare wild pepper native to Madagascar is at risk as the forests supporting its growth continue to disappear, raising concerns about the future of a valuable spice that has gained popularity in international cuisine.

Known as Voatsiperifery, the pepper grows on climbing vines that reach into the canopy of Madagascar’s natural forests. Its distinctive woody, citrus-like and resinous flavour has made it a sought-after ingredient among chefs, particularly in France, its main export market.

However, growing demand, combined with the destruction of forest habitats and unsustainable harvesting practices, is threatening the plant’s long-term survival.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Madagascar’s forests shrank by 27 per cent between 1990 and 2025, putting additional pressure on species that depend on natural forest ecosystems.

International Demand Puts Pressure on Wild Pepper

Voatsiperifery has attracted attention from high-end restaurants and spice merchants because of its distinctive aroma and flavour.

French chef Olivier Roellinger, who discovered the spice about 30 years ago, described it as an exceptional ingredient with a strong peppery taste and notes of peat, resin and citrus.

“This pepper blew me away right from the start with that piperine punch that brings out a note of peat, resin, even citrus; it's incomparable,” Roellinger told AFP.

He added that the pepper works particularly well with fruit-based dishes.

The spice commands prices of between €150 and €200 per kilogramme in France, equivalent to approximately $169 to $225, creating a potentially valuable source of income for harvesters and exporters in Madagascar.

However, the high market value has also encouraged harvesting practices that can damage the very forests on which the plant depends.

Destructive Harvesting Threatens the Plant

Voatsiperifery vines climb trees to reach the forest canopy, where their peppercorns develop. Harvesters often struggle to reach the fruit, prompting some to pull down the vines or cut down the trees supporting them.

Such practices can destroy entire plants and reduce future harvests, forcing collectors to venture deeper into forests in search of remaining vines.

Roellinger, who founded the Épices Roellinger spice boutique, is supporting efforts to certify authentic Voatsiperifery through regulated harvesting zones in Madagascar.

The initiative aims to improve oversight of harvesting and encourage more sustainable practices. However, Roellinger has acknowledged that enforcement remains a challenge and that certification rules could be circumvented.

Forest Loss Changes Life for Local Harvesters

The village of Ambongamarina, northeast of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, was once a major centre for collecting the wild pepper.

Farmer Maminiaina Rabearison recalled that natural forest covered much of the surrounding landscape until around 2010 to 2012.

At the height of the trade, collectors could spend between 10 and 20 weeks a year harvesting the pepper, with at least 100 kilogrammes sold weekly at the local market to a trader.

That trade has since declined as forests have been damaged by bushfires, charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture. Forest destruction has also been linked to land-clearing activities and protests against the central government.

The declining availability of the spice has affected local livelihoods and increased the time required to find viable harvesting sites.

Herinaina Randrianarimanga, another farmer from Ambongamarina, said collectors now sometimes have to walk almost an entire day into the forest to locate the plant.

Although the village is only about 120 kilometres from Antananarivo, the journey can take approximately five hours by four-wheel-drive vehicle, illustrating the difficult terrain and limited accessibility of the area.

Calls for Traceability and Sustainable Trade

Despite the pepper’s growing international profile, Madagascar lacks a comprehensive national system for tracking its harvesting, distribution and exports.

Mima Chateauneuf, co-founder of bulk export company Jacarandas, has called for greater traceability to establish how much pepper is being harvested and whether natural populations are declining.

Without reliable data, authorities and traders face difficulties determining the scale of the resource and assessing the effects of commercial demand.

Jacarandas has increased its focus on organic pepper, which accounts for approximately one-third of its exports. Organic certification requires traceability, offering a potential route towards better monitoring of production and supply chains.

However, experts and businesses face the challenge of ensuring that sustainability standards translate into meaningful protection for wild populations and the forests where they grow.

Cultivation Offers Hope for the Future

Researchers and entrepreneurs are exploring whether Voatsiperifery can be cultivated commercially without relying entirely on wild harvesting.

French-Malagasy entrepreneur Olivier Ramaherison has been experimenting with domestic cultivation on inherited land in the Mandraka forest area, approximately 60 kilometres east of Antananarivo.

Following thousands of trials, between 500 and 1,000 vines have been established on terraced plots. Unlike wild plants that climb supporting trees, the cultivated vines grow close to the ground, making the peppercorns easier to harvest.

Ramaherison, who heads Essentialys, a company producing aromatic plants, essential oils, coffee and pepper, said his team discovered that cuttings taken from horizontal branches stopped attempting to climb.

The technique could offer a way to simplify harvesting, reduce damage to supporting trees and establish a more reliable supply of the spice.

Ramaherison believes that if Madagascar can develop large-scale cultivation comparable to established black pepper plantations in countries such as Vietnam and Brazil, the industry could generate substantial economic benefits.

Balancing Economic Opportunity With Conservation

Voatsiperifery presents Madagascar with both an environmental challenge and an economic opportunity.

The spice can provide income for rural communities and generate export revenue, but continued reliance on destructive wild harvesting risks undermining the resource that makes the product valuable.

Improved traceability, enforceable harvesting standards, forest conservation and successful cultivation could help reduce pressure on natural populations.

The challenge will be ensuring that commercial expansion benefits local communities without accelerating habitat destruction.

For Madagascar, protecting Voatsiperifery is not only about preserving a rare culinary ingredient. It is also about safeguarding forest biodiversity and developing a spice industry capable of supporting livelihoods over the long term.