In his 2022 State of the Nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted initiatives to expand the cannabis and hemp sector, highlighting the sector’s potential to investors.
In this edition of Farmer’s Inside Track, we chat with Trenton Birch, the chief executive and co-founder of Cheeba Cannabis Academy. He shares an industry overview, how we’re progressing in Mzansi and how new producers can break into the market by joining clubs and the medicinal sector.
How to cultivate your own
When it comes to the market, Mzansi is often regarded as a global powerhouse. Birch says that Mzansi’s cannabis has already established a strong reputation worldwide, particularly in Europe. He also notes that for over 56 years, the Eastern Cape’s Pondoland area has been the primary source of cannabis for export.
“There is a huge opportunity for us to push all that into a legal space and to export to Europe. But of course, in Europe, people all started to grow cannabis, the challenge for them is that they have to go indoor.”
If you ask Birch, he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to cultivate cannabis indoors in South Africa. He insists that we make use of the sunlight we already have.
Birch says that the only legal way to grow your own is to join a cannabis club. “The club needs to be a non-profit. You join the non-profit, and then members within that club will cultivate on your behalf.”
Some of the topics covered by Birch:
- Distinct uses of cannabis and hemp;
- The potential for industrial hemp and cannabis; and
- SAHPRA’s procedure for reviewing medical cannabis applications
Want to know more? Listen to the full episode of Farmer’s Inside Track.
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Option 3: Click here to listen on Google Podcast.
ALSO READ: Protesters: ‘Speed up cannabis law reform’
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