In Burkina Faso, hibiscus, better known locally as bissap, is a marginal crop grown around the edges of fields in association with other plants.
The areas devoted to it vary between 0.25 and 1 hectare maximum. Annual plant prized for its flowers used for infusions, juices, jams, and more, the bissap is grown mainly by women for whom it provides a source of income.
Created fifteen years ago, the Déli-International Agency, a company based in Bobo-Dioulasso, in western Burkina Faso, exports several hundred tons of bissap each year to Brazil, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, Guadeloupe and also in countries of the sub-region such as Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
Since 2006, the company has been buying part of the hibiscus directly from small producers. This allows producers to make much better profits. ADI temporarily employs more than a hundred women every year for hibiscus cleaning.