PFID/NP Accomplishments 2007

Senegalese Hibiscus Producers Link with the US Private Sector

The women of the Latmingue cooperative, Hibiscus Growers
The women of the Latmingue cooperative an ASNAPP partner hibiscus grower community.

The Partnership for Food Industry Development / Natural Products works to increase market penetration of African natural products in the US. ASNAPP - Senegal has been partnering with the herbal tea company ADINA, of San Francisco, California to link community hibiscus producers directly to Adina to provide the company's needed hibiscus. Organic raw material which was produced by ASNAPP assisted women's growers collectives was used by ADINA in an organic ice-tea branded "Adina for Life". This tea line was featured in the International Food Technology (IFT) Food Show as one of the exciting new products to be featured in one of the largest food and beverages shows in the US.

ASNAPP, ADINA, and AES, our public sector partner in Senegal, assisted 55 farmer associations, comprised of over 6000 hibiscus growers, in Senegal to obtain Organic certification (ECOCERT, Belgium) for 350 hectares of land. This marked the first instance of organic certification of hibiscus fields in West Africa. In addition, the tri-partnership provided critical support to the farmer associations to obtain Fairtrade and NOP certification.

In addition, ASNAPP and AES, successfully established other international markets for the growers for the sale of 16 tons of material to international buyers. As a testament to the quality and desirability of the material being produced, local buyers offered a 40 percent premium over standard local prices for an additional 30 tons of product.

Other companies including from Senegal and Europe are seeking the purchase additional tonnage of the dark red variety (Vimto) hibiscus from ASNAPP communities. Much of the organically produced hibiscus produced by ASNAPP communities was sold locally for such good prices that there was limited material available for the international market. The high quality of ASNAPP-led hibiscus have been a significant achievement over the past years and shows great promise of continual growth.