Is the lack of urgency that our government departments are well known for going to result in one of greatest agricultural opportunities available to this country being lost to our African peers and international competitors?
I am referring here to the nascent cannabis cultivation industry, which has the potential to create thousands of jobs, and small businesses.
ALSO READ : Good Business Basics: Scratch below surface and cracks begin to show
Fledgling players in the market are calling on the government to speedily conclude and adopt a regulatory framework, so that the myriad of sector openings can be exploited by locals.
While the recreational use of cannabis has gained prominence with the landmark Constitutional Court judgement in 2018 that allowed cultivation and consumption for personal use, the plant lends itself to both the industrial and medicinal fields as well, where significantly higher value can be extracted.
This is not to say that the export of cannabis for recreational consumption cannot prove to potentially, become a massive export crop, with the decriminalisation of the product in many states in America, and countries like Canada, Mexico and others in Europe.
As Trenton Birch, CEO of Cheeba Africa points out, ‘the longer it takes to get a regulatory framework in SA, the faster we lose our competitive edge’.
And our competitive edge includes the fact that where our competitors have to grow in artificially heated greenhouses, our sunny climate allows the plants to grow, excuse the pun, like weeds.
The growing conditions also contribute to the fact that SA grown cannabis is recognised by cannabis aficionados as some of the best in the world, and ‘Durban Poison’ has become almost an international brand leader amongst users!
The other two market areas are the production of hemp grown specifically for the textile and fabrics, and the medicinal and health sectors using the cannabidol extract (CBD) in products.
Approached for comment, Minister for Agriculture Thoko Didiza said this week that an inter-ministerial committee comprising the ministers of Justice, Health, Police and Social Development was working on the plan.
Sadly, and as to be expected, no timeframes for completion of the masterplan was forthcoming.
Mark Wegerif, founder of Cannabis Organization of the University of Pretoria (COUP) see ‘enormous potential for a legal cannabis industry in SA, and that it could create hundreds of thousands of job and ownership opportunities’, particularly as a cash crop for black farmers in poor rural areas.
Now if this isn’t be a reason for Minister Didiza and her team to act with urgency and focus, nothing will be.
Vijay Naidoo writes in his personal capacity as CEO of the Port Shepstone Business Forum.
The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
