Cooperatives Brew Success with Hibiscus Cultivation

interesting story on using a simple crop in Senegal... anyone that has been in Senegal can attest that Bissap juice is the best! Now, if farmers can produce this crop organically and find local and international markets...I saw in Whole Foods that about 4 oz of this goes for 7.99!

Cooperatives Brew Success with Hibiscus Cultivation

On a bright morning in a dusty corner of Senegal, Viviane Badiane and the growers of the Nioro cooperative sorted their freshly harvested hibiscus flowers with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Greatly exceeding the expectations of their neighbors, the women had been guaranteed a good price for their hibiscus while having become one of the few local producers to earn organic certification. This positivity was mirrored by Abdoulaye Aidara, the head a grower's cooperative in a nearby community: after years of work these farmers were now seeing good returns for themselves and their families. The successes of these two cooperatives have not come without hardships. Agriculture in Senegal's dry tropical savanna relies on weak soils and sporadic seasonal rains. Most local farmers need heavy doses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to coax common crops like millet and peanuts from the land, damaging the already poor soils. Hibiscus cultivation offers an alternative to dependence on such inputs being a hardy crop that requires little water, but it comes with its downsides as well, such as a lack of prestige. "When we began to cultivate bissap [hibiscus] people laughed at us," explained Ms. Badiane. "We were ashamed of what we were growing." Hibiscus is generally seen as a secondary crop and as such is not believed to earn farmers any real revenue. Viviane Badiane of Nioro with freshly harvested hibiscus flowers. Rather than to accept this notion the Nioro and Latmingue cooperatives joined with ASNAPP and its local partner AES (the Senegalese First Lady's Education and Health Association) to experiment with hibiscus cultivation and its potential as a cash crop. For hibiscus to emerge from its secondary status a package of agricultural techniques and quality control methods were encouraged through ASNAPP's rural extension program. These steps not only greatly increased yields - the Nioro growers increased their harvest by 75% from 2005 to 2006 - but also steered the cooperatives towards organic agriculture. The approach was explained by Ms. Badiane: "all crops are good, but bissap is adapted to local conditions and better suited to our reality. We don't have money for chemical fertilizers, but bissap grows well with organic fertilizer, so we made a lot of compost and produced a large crop." As ASNAPP's partners have recognized the benefits of increased yields and improved quality they have readily devoted more land and resources to hibiscus cultivation. Women of the Latmingue cooperative By adopting new production and processing techniques encouraged by ASNAPP, the cooperatives produced high quality and high value organic hibiscus while lowering production costs. The average price for a kilo of conventional Senegalese hibiscus earns 500 West African Francs (roughly $1) while organic hibiscus earns nearly twice that amount: 900 Francs. "Organic farming is a true partner in raising the quality of production and our standard of living," Mr. Aidara explained. "Our successes with organic farming have passed on practical understanding of low input and low impact agriculture to our members and our neighbors as well. People see that it's not only good for production, it's good for the soil and water and therefore the community." the Women of the Latmingue cooperative Like most of their neighbors, the members of the Nioro and Latmingue cooperatives primarily rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. There is therefore a need to harness the potential of native plant products to fuel economic development in rural areas. While providing the basis for sustainable production, the hibiscus grown by ASNAPP's partner cooperatives promises to lead growers away from poverty and towards healthier communities. The Nioro growers envision that successful hibiscus cultivation and sales will enable them to target pressing development priorities: "We plan to use the premium from our bissap to improve the education and health of our children." declared Ami Ba of Nioro to the applause of her cooperative. "We have worked hard to make a better life for our youth and we are thankful that bissap makes this possible." While hibiscus cultivation has raised the hopes of these cooperatives, marketing measures are needed to transform the plant into a cash crop. In addition to helping farmers improve yields and quality control standards, ASNAPP opens the door to new and sustainable relationships with hibiscus buyers by creating market linkages to respond to the demand for high quality organic goods. In this way, the co-ops are not only guaranteed that their entire crop will be purchased, removing much of the risk inherent to agriculture, but moreover they are guaranteed a fair price for their crop. Perhaps the most fruitful market relationship forged since the beginning of ASNAPP's hibiscus program has been with Adina for Life Inc., a beverage and lifestyles company based in San Francisco. Each year, Adina buys nearly all of the light pink hibiscus produced by ASNAPP's partners, rewarding sustainable and organic farming by consistently placing a high value on the crop. Viviane Badiane of Nioro with freshly harvested hibiscus flowers The success of the cooperatives has come thanks to the adoption of organic production practices as well as the relationship with buyers who support fair and ethical trade. Because these practices have developed to the point where they meet international standards, ASNAPP has recently begun to facilitate organic and Fair Trade certification for their partners. Thanks to these efforts, which are the culmination of several years of rural extension and training, the 2006 hibiscus crop for 71 partner cooperatives was certified organic for the first time and their 2007crop has successfully passed inspections. The next step is to obtain Fair Trade certification to bestow official recognition upon the efforts of the farmers, of ASNAPP, and of buyers such as Adina. Together they have insured that the cooperatives earn a just price, and that their labor and diligence is treated with dignity and esteem. Abdoulaye Aidora of Latmingue (left) with ASNAPP country director, Babou Diouf More than just contributing to economic and ecological development, hibiscus production has forged a new sense of community among farmers. "Once we started cultivating bissap we formed an organization that allowed us to grow and sell our produce as a team," said Abdoulaye Aidara of his Latmingue cooperative. The collective use of materials is highly important in this setting, where farmers have very limited resources. "People are not productive on their own. The co-op allows us to optimize our production and at the same time address issues of health and environmental sanity. We are a community organization. One of our activities is to clean our community for ourselves and for our neighbors, whether or not they are members. It also lifts up our more marginalized members and helps get them on the path out of poverty by evenly distributing our collective earnings." Viviane Badiane and her all woman Nioro cooperative shared this sentiment: "Before we grew bissap as a co-op we didn't know each other! Now we rely on each other for everything. The fields brought us together." Ms. Badiane and Mr. Aidara have witnessed a slow and positive transformation in their communities, one they can attribute to the successful cultivation and sale of hibiscus. Once a crop that inspired the ridicule of their neighbors and little promise of earnings, their hibiscus is now an object of respect, due mainly to the fact that ASNAPP has encouraged their partners to treat it differently. Babou Diouf, the country manager of ASNAPP's Senegal program, describes this shift in perception: "Once the growers began to grow organic bissap, raise its quality, and sell it for a good price, their neighbors began to see both the true value of the crop and of going organic. The bissap brought in more than money to the community: it made people proud." This new perception of hibiscus and its promise to spur rural development was reinforced after poor rains recently led to the failure of staple millet and peanut crops across Senegal. While these crops require consistent annual rainfall to flourish, hibiscus fared relatively well due to its adaptability to drought, making it less susceptible to the risks of non-irrigated agriculture. Indeed, these circumstances have proved hibiscus to be much more than a secondary crop. "Bissap saved us this year," asserted Mr. Aidara of Latmingue, whose relief was echoed by other ASNAPP partners who have come to rely on the crop for their livelihoods. Now that the co-ops have seen the potential by all Senegalese of hibiscus cultivation and sustainable marketing partnerships, there is more hope for the future. Inspired by the success of the 2007 crop, the farmers envision many changes in their communities. "We would like to build a new health center and fill it with medicine for ourselves and our children," said the women of the Nioro cooperative. "We'd also like to dig a well so we can cultivate bissap and other crops year round." Indeed, crop diversification is a goal of the cooperatives, as is food security and sustainability. "Today things are improving and we are seeing to it that these improvements last!" said Mr. Aidara. ASNAPP shares the goals of its partners and will continue to strive to make them a reality.