Cumbersome and confusing legislation is not keeping South Africa’s cannabis industry from burgeoning – except amongst poor, rural and indigenous farmers who are mostly left behind in the rush.
Many activists who attended the Cape Town edition of this year’s Cannabis Expo held a similar view. In his expo address, Multidime’s Trishalan Munsami said that although cannabis is meant for everybody, regulations only allow for a few to participate in the market.
“The few who are participating, are those with the finances or those with access to connections and contacts. A huge part of the market is excluded from the regulation and policy reform.”
Munsami started Multidime during the Covid-19 pandemic to help address critical issues such as inclusivity, fair trade practices, the elimination of exploitation, accessibility to supportive healthcare, increased employment and poverty reduction.
For Grek Zweni, a former cannabis farmer from Pondoland in the Eastern Cape, the issue of inclusivity is personal. Because cannabis is the only crop resilient enough to grow there at a low cost, struggling farmers in the region have grown it for years despite legal repercussions.
But now that growing the plant has been decriminalised, farmers are struggling even more. “They find themselves with piles and piles of it. [But] there’s nothing else.”
Tonnes of unsellable produce
Also on the stage was Tijmen Grooten, a Dutch researcher doing his master’s degree on Pondoland farmers. His preliminary findings underscore Zweni’s grim image of the farmers’ plight.
Income for the 55 farmer families that he works with, has all but disappeared while the diversion of their market has left them with tonnes of unsellable produce.
“This plant has difficulty competing with the other weed or cannabis [plants] now growing in South Africa. It has lower THC, and there are no real viable markets anymore. Before decriminalisation of cannabis in South Africa, this was the place where almost all the cannabis in your country came from.”
Grooten says that, even though the levels at which the farmers are producing are still illegal, the potential market value for the Mkumbi and Dikidikini areas alone are around R11 million in cannabis oil and R6 million in hash. “They have a lot of potential. The only thing that is missing is the legalisation for what they are doing now and the market: where do they sell that product?”
For Zweni, the solution is simple. Similar to the hubs for other crops, government should be building centres “where growers can bring their harvest, [have it] processed and marketed [where] the demand is.”
‘Cannabis represents hope’
Current legislation also limits other stakeholders in the industry, says Linda Siboto, co-founder of Cheeba Cannabis Academy.
He explains that cannabis companies cannot reach the general public due to legislation around advertising and marketing. “So, having spaces like this, where you can have consumers and businesses interact and interface with your business and your services, is great.”
Although Ziyaad September, founder of Lis Vegan Ice Cream, says the industry provides many people with opportunities and hope, especially considering the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
“We all went through the pandemic together. A lot of people lost their lives. A lot of people lost their jobs. People are in desperation. But with the positivity and all this energy around cannabis…
“People are doing honest work here and that’s what it’s about. This is the reason why government needs to come and help us become better.”
ALSO READ – Cannabis rush: Will indigenous farmers be left behind?
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