Cannabis farming may help the poor

CANNABIS isn’t just a drug for medicinal or recreational purposes, but a new sector which could prove useful in addressing poverty, especially in rural areas.

South Africa has made significant regulatory progress in the past five years surrounding the consumption and distribution of cannabis, and industry stakeholders claim cultivating the “leafy green plant” could benefit the poorest of the poor.

Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Nomalungelo Gina, said the cannabis sector possessed a huge potential for small, medium, and micro enterprises, especially for people in rural areas where poverty is concentrated.

Gina, speaking during the Agriculture and Land Summit in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday, said they aimed to identify gaps and explore opportunities in the agricultural sector value chain within the district and the province.

She said they hoped the summit would promote and develop the agricultural sector within the municipality for both commercial and smallholder farmers, while also promoting youth and women participation in the sector.

With an estimated commercial value of R28 billion, Gina said the government estimated that the cultivation and commercialisation of cannabis production stood to not only bring in billions to the benefit of the economy, but also to create around 10 000 to 25 000 jobs across the sector.

“The heart of driving the countryside economy lies in focusing on value chains from cultivation and agro-processing to sales, all of which will increase and benefit job creation.

“Although Bergville has fertile land for various crops, it has a unique climate that is favourable to the growing of cannabis.

“We are here to nudge you as people of Bergville to focus more in particular on the growing of cannabis, and the agro-processing of cannabis for markets both domestic and abroad,” Gina added.

She said the Bergville processing plant in Winterton, built by the Industrial Development Corporation, had setbacks which the government and stakeholders were trying to resolve for owners and the communities affected.

In addition to that, considering how the region was full of history and memorials for tourism, Gina said the uKhahlamba and Bergville regions were sleeping giants in terms of economic prosperity.

They had to consider using whatever was at their disposal to create local economic development and bolster job creation.

“Our white farmers, with so much experience, are requested to impart skills to the emerging black farmers through hand-holding exercises.

“It can only be through sharing of experiences and co-operation that we can build the local economy together, especially the agricultural economy,” she said.

Charl Henning, Fields of Green administrator, said farming communities across South Africa had been farming cannabis for some years already. He said the biggest problem for the market was in removing the final “red tape” involved.

Henning said as it stood in South Africa, even though the laws had been changed significantly in recent years, what still needed to be addressed was the drug trafficking law.

Through the law, Henning said, police were still arresting people for the possession of cannabis.

“The government can’t expect to grow a community, while at the same time they haven’t instructed the police to stop the arrests.

“Education is key and it will help people to understand that cannabis is not as bad as the apartheid laws made it out to be.”