Tag: zimbabwe

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What Is Holding Back Zimbabwe’s Hemp Industry?

Written by Hazel Norman on September 5, 2024. Posted in Business, Policy.

Humans harnessing hemp is far from being a new thing. Hemp fiber was used as far back as 10,000 years ago during the Early Jomon Period in Japan. Consumption for medical purposes goes back at least as far as back as 2,800 BC. Cannabis was included in Emperor Shen Nung’s (regarded as the father of Chinese medicine) pharmacopeia around that time.

Unfortunately, many countries began prohibiting hemp in the early 1900s as overall cannabis prohibition took hold. From an agricultural standpoint, hemp and cannabis are the same plant. However, from a legal standpoint, hemp and cannabis are now treated differently by many governments.

In countries that permit hemp activity, below a defined THC threshold (.2-1%) is considered to be hemp, and above the defined THC threshold is cannabis. Hemp and cannabis laws vary across the globe, with some countries still prohibiting both.

One nation that has modernized its hemp laws to permit production and commerce is Zimbabwe. The African nation adopted reforms in 2019 and 2020 that now govern the domestic hemp industry. Still, the industry is taking longer to thrive in Zimbabwe than advocates have hoped.

“The key challenges are production, seeds, access to finance from local financial institutions, market access, certification of our farmers, and value-addition,” Jonathan Mukuruba, agribusiness director at the Agriculture Marketing Authority, said during a recent panel discussion according to HempToday. “We still do not yet have good agricultural control and control practices applicable to agricultural practices for our processors locally.”

“As of this year, the Agricultural Marketing Authority has issued a total of 61 licenses for hemp production, including cultivation, trade, research, and breeding. Reports suggest Zimbabwe has so far exported over 8,000 ton of hemp – most likely flower biomass for CBD — primarily to Poland, Switzerland and Germany, but figures are difficult to verify.” HempToday also reported.

Cannabis is currently legal for adult use at the national level in Uruguay, Canada, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, and South Africa, although recreational cannabis commerce remains prohibited in Luxembourg and South Africa.

According to a recent study conducted by researchers from Ukraine and France, and published by the U.S. National Institute of Health, 57 countries have adopted medical cannabis legalization measures.

The legal global cannabis industry is set for significant expansion in the coming years, and a new report by Skyquest Technology Consulting is projecting that the regulated worldwide cannabis market will surpass $148.4 billion in value by 2031.

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Zimbabwe Tobacco Farmers Get More Incentive To Switch To Hemp

Written by Johnny Green on February 22, 2023. Posted in Business, Policy.

Historically, Zimbabwe has served as the top producer of tobacco on the African continent, although in recent years many tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe have transitioned to cultivating hemp due to lowering global demand for tobacco. Zimbabwe’s government more than tripled the amount of allowable THC in hemp this month, and that should further motivate farmers to switch their fields from tobacco to hemp.

Prior to this month, the legal THC threshold for hemp in Zimbabwe was .3%, which is the legal standard in most countries around the world. However, a handful of countries have already raised the threshold from .3% to 1%, and Zimbabwe has followed suit. Zimbabwe joins Australia, Ecuador, Malawi, Switzerland, and Uruguay in setting its hemp THC threshold at 1%.

Why Does It Matter?

Going from a .3% THC threshold to a 1% THC threshold may not seem like a major leap, and yet, it is very significant. Whenever a hemp crop is tested and it has a higher percentage of THC than is allowed by law, the entire crop has to be destroyed. For obvious reasons, that is a very undesirable outcome for any farmer. In Zimbabwe, where the median income is just $932, a failed crop is particularly detrimental.

By allowing farmers in Zimbabwe to cultivate hemp with a higher THC threshold, it accommodates a greater level of THC percentage variance. Farmers that were worried about their current genetics producing slightly too much THC no longer have to worry as much. They now have more cultivars to choose from when deciding what to cultivate, and the medical cannabis products that they produce will be more effective since there will be more THC involved. The cannabinoid ‘entourage effect’ will be enhanced in patients that consume said products thanks to there being more THC in them.

Limited medical cannabis was first legalized in Zimbabwe in 2018, making it only the second country on the African continent to pass such reform. Since that time several other African nations have followed in Zimbabwe’s footsteps and legalized limited medical cannabis production. Will Zimbabwe become the continental leader for hemp, just as it has served historically for tobacco? Only time will tell, but the higher THC threshold will certainly increase the odds of that happening.

Jobs, Economic Boost, And An Improved Environment

Arguably the biggest motivating factor behind Zimbabwe’s recent THC threshold change is economic stimulation. Zimbabwe is one of the poorest nations on earth, and any and all jobs that the hemp industry can create are greatly needed. Demand for hemp products, particularly CBD-based products, is strong worldwide. If Zimbabwe can produce raw hemp to be made into products, and/or produces its own finished products, it will hopefully create many career opportunities in the process.

A booming hemp industry in Zimbabwe wouldn’t just help individuals that work directly in the industry. It would also help create ancillary hemp companies, from security to storage to just about anything else that the mind can imagine. The domestic hemp industry bringing in money from afar via exports would help boost local economies, with hemp industry workers spending their wages in the areas in which they live. Everyone would benefit from an economic butterfly effect from such activity, in addition to the public benefitting directly from increased industry tax and fee revenue.

Cultivating tobacco results in degraded soil and threatened biodiversity. Tobacco farming on a large scale often involves pesticides and fertilizers that are bad for the environment. Conversely, the hemp plant requires very little inputs and actually improves the soil in which it is cultivated via a process known as soil remediation. Furthermore, roughly 4.5 trillion cigarette butts end up in our oceans, rivers, soil, and other places every year, and presumably (hopefully) that will not be the case with hemp products. With all of that in mind, any hectare in Zimbabwe that transitions from tobacco to hemp is a great thing.

Zimbabwe Continues Shift From Tobacco To Cannabis

Written by Johnny Green on September 15, 2021. Posted in Politics.

Cannabis reform is spreading across the African continent, albeit in a slower fashion compared to most other continents. Many countries in Africa are at least exploring medical cannabis reform. In the case of South Africa, adult-use legalization appears to be on the way soon.

African nations have historically taken a harsh stance against cannabis, treating it as a very harmful substance. Fortunately, that has changed in recent years, including in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is currently the largest producer of tobacco in Africa. In fact, it is estimated that as much as 20% of Zimbabwe’s exports are for tobacco. With demand for tobacco products shrinking across the globe, farmers in Zimbabwe are looking for a better crop to cultivate.

Cannabis cultivation was decriminalized in some instances in Zimbabwe in 2018, and the country’s first legal harvest occurred a year later. Industry regulations came a year after that, and Zimbabwe is now home to an emerging legal cannabis industry. Per Hemp Today:

Investors from Germany, Switzerland and Canada are among those who have received cultivation and processing licenses under Zimbabwe’s cannabis program. A total of 57 licenses were handed to both foreign and local enterprises, the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) announced this week.

The Ministry of Lands and the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe are working with ZIDA in administration of the cannabis business, and share authority for regulatory requirements.

ZIDA said some farms are already operating.

The legal cannabis export landscape is getting more crowded by the day, with more countries ramping up their domestic cultivation operations with an eye for the international market.

The timing of Zimbabwe’s export licensing efforts could prove to be crucial if it results in the country gaining a significant foothold on the international export market prior to other countries being able to do so, including other countries in Africa.

Adult-use legalization does not appear to be on its way any time soon in Zimbabwe, however, if the cannabis plant can surpass the tobacco plant when it comes to revenue generation, that could speed up the process.

Zimbabwe Announces Rules For Cultivating Cannabis

Written by Johnny Green on September 23, 2020. Posted in Business.

The legal cannabis industry is emerging all over the planet right now, and that includes spreading across the African continent. An increasing number of countries in Africa are getting on the right side of history and allowing the legal cannabis industry to operate.

One of those countries is Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe may not be the first country that a person thinks of when they think of cannabis reform and the emerging cannabis industry, however, the country is in the midst of a cannabis policy transformation.

Officials in Zimbabwe recently announced the rules that will govern cannabis production within Zimbabwe’s borders, along with rules pertaining to cannabis research. Per Bloomberg:

Anxious Masuka, the agriculture minister, under regulations published in a government gazette said three types of permits can be issued for growers, researchers and industrial hemp merchants.

Growers are only allowed to cultivate, market and sell industrial hemp and researchers may cultivate for research purposes. A merchant can contract individual farmers, procure and process industrial hemp into a specified product.

Zimbabwe’s current law only allows for the legal cultivation of hemp and not higher-THC varieties of cannabis. Hopefully as time goes by that restriction is lifted and all types of cannabis will be allowed to be legally cultivated.

For now, the rules that were announced will have to do, and it’s worth noting that they are far superior to prohibition. Historically, the cultivation of cannabis carried a prison sentence of up to 12 years.

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Zimbabwe Flips Cannabis Policy To Create Total Privatization Of The Market

Written by Marguerite Arnold on June 2, 2020. Posted in Business.

As South African lawmakers miss a deadline to change the law, finally enshrining cultivation, possession and consumption as a constitutional right (set by the Constitutional Court in 2018), neighbouring Zimbabwe has moved forward on a new course of its own.

Namely, full privatization of the industry.

In an abrupt turn of events, the country’s Health Ministry has just announced that all local and foreign investors who enter into the production of cannabis (known locally as mbanje), will be allowed to own 100% of their farms and the necessary licenses.

The logic? Competitiveness.

The Zimbabwean government-approved medical cannabis production in 2018. By last year, 37 entities had expressed interest in owning a license. However at least some firms had subsequently entered into a private-public partnership with the government. Those agreements are now being voided, giving the original investors full control and ownership of any projects.

Initial licenses will be good for five years before requiring a renewal.

This is, of course, a vast improvement. Formerly production and possession of the plant were illegal and could be sentenced for up to 12 years in jail.

It also seems like Zimbabwe is now actively trying to compete with the developing market just south of its border in South Africa if not Lesotho.

Where And Why Is African Cannabis Relevant?

So far, the continent’s legal market has been as problem strewn as just about anywhere else. Delays and amendments if not “exceptions” have been the hallmark of development in Africa, even if they are slightly different in form than anywhere else.

However, there are clearly developing pockets of cannabis activity, with an eye to three markets: domestic consumption, and export somewhere else – either within the continent, or, beyond. At least one German distributor has successfully completed an import from South Africa and there are likely to be more. Israel recently imported from Uganda.

However, the Africa trade itself is not insubstantial and on both the medical and recreational front.

This continental market, in other words, is starting to get going, and in some interesting ways, no matter how laggard the imposition of the final regulations are. That is true just about everywhere.

For an in-depth summer update on the state of the cannabis industry globally, be sure to catch the International Cannabis Business Conference’s first-ever global convention on June 9.

Zimbabwe Makes History With Planting Of First Legal Hemp Crop

Written by Johnny Green on October 20, 2019. Posted in Business.

Zimbabwe may not be the first place that people think of when they think of hemp, however, the African nation made history this month when it planted its first crop of hemp. Zimbabwe legalized the production of hemp last year for medical and scientific purposes and legalized hemp for industrial purposes in September of this year.

The Zimbabwe Industrial Hemp Trust (ZIHT) planted six different varieties of hemp. ZIHT was the first entity to receive a hemp cultivation license in Zimbabwe’s history. The license is valid for 5 years. It was a monumental development for Zimbabwe, as Zimbabwe’s Agricultural Minister pointed out according to Yahoo News:

“This project is the first of its kind in the history of our country,” Agriculture Minister Perence Shiri told guests at the launch in Harare central prison.

“This pilot project will provide essential knowledge or information for the successful production of this crop. The benefits that will be derived from the production of industrial hemp are enormous and varied,” he said.

The location of the historic hemp garden is significant in multiple ways. The fact that it used to be a prison is representative of both hemp prohibition’s past in Zimbabwe as well as how much times are changing on the African continent and around the world.

ZIHT has stated that it chose the site because security features were already built into the property, which makes sense. It’s not the first former correctional facility to be converted into a cannabis cultivation facility. Similar types of facilities in North America have been converted over the years.

However, this is the first time that the conversion of a prison facility has been doubled with it also simultaneously being the location of the first legal planting in a nation’s history, and that’s definitely worth celebrating.