Upland cotton

Cotton is woven into Faso Dan Fani – Burkina’s national cloth, which Thomas Sankara made a symbol of the country’s self-reliance.

Upland cotton is a shrubby plant grown as an annual, with lobed leaves and large, creamy-white flowers that turn pink after pollination. The flowers develop into bolls which split open when ripe, revealing seeds covered in long white fibres. The species comes from Mexico and Central America and today supplies most of the world’s cotton. Oil is pressed from the seeds, and the pressed cake is used as animal feed.

Significance in the country

For decades cotton has been the main agricultural and export product of Burkina Faso, one of Africa’s leading producers. Hand-woven Faso Dan Fani, popularised in the 1980s by President Thomas Sankara, is today worn as festive dress and is a symbol of national pride.

Where it grows

Mainly the west and south-west of the country – the Hauts-Bassins (Bobo-Dioulasso), Boucle du Mouhoun, Cascades and Sud-Ouest regions – as well as the Centre-Ouest, Est and Centre-Est regions.

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