Zimbabwe has approved the first project for the farming and processing of cannabis, a development that is set to help the country accelerate foreign currency earning
The project is set to begin at the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services’ Buffalo Range prison in Chiredzi, southeast of the country.
This follows the government’s enactment of Statutory Instrument 62 of 2018 (SI 62/2018) or the Dangerous Drugs- Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Scientific Research Regulations.
The work is in progress in Chiredzi to start farming of the psychoactive plant, which the government aims to use for medicinal and scientific research after a Harare based company Ivory Medical was authorised to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment for the project.
The company is in partnership with NSK Holdings and international investors as funders, Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and a Portuguese company, Symtomax, which provides technical and farming techniques.
Speaking to CAJ News, Peter Mugodhi, Chiredzi district environmental management agency manager, commented, “Although it is a very sensitive project, which seems to be the first of its kind in Chiredzi and Masvingo Province as a whole, we need thorough consultations involving all stakeholders.”
Ivory Medical has proposed and secured a 10-ha piece of land at Buffalo Range Prison because of high security needed to do the project, said the source.
