It has been just over two months since President Cyril Ramaphosa’ s state of the nation address, in which he announced plans to accelerate the growth of the cannabis industry in SA — an intention he also expressed last year when he announced a review of the policy and regulatory framework for industrial hemp and cannabis.
The 2022 African Cannabis Report puts the value of Africa’s legal cannabis market at about $7.1bn across nine key African countries, including SA. According to Ramaphosa, the cannabis industry has the potential to create more than 130,000 new jobs. At the cultivation stage, crops must be grown in the right conditions, controlling temperature, soil toxins and other variables to meet regulatory requirements. The extraction of cannabinoids to make products such as oils, tinctures, edibles and concentrates also requires expertise and meticulous monitoring to meet international export standards. Once the products have been developed, specialised dispensers are needed to advise consumers on the right products for their needs.
Some parts of the country are already realising the benefits of investing in the cannabis industry and building these skill sets. In April the Ntabankulu Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape put R80m towards the creation of a specialised agricultural college to train local farmers in the commercialisation and processing of their cannabis crops.
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