Sunday Mail Reporter

Government has licensed Eco Equity Ltd, a British firm, to grow cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes.

The company, which has begun clearing a 2 000-hectare piece of land in Marondera, is targeting full production early next year, with exports expected before year-end.

The country plans to tap into the multibillion-dollar legal cannabis market.

Eco Equity marketing manager Ms Harriet Hills told The Sunday Mail that the Marondera project was expected to create hundreds of jobs for locals.

“We have identified a suitable section on the farm in Marondera, for the time being, but we have potential to expand in the future,” she said in e-mailed responses.

“We are a long way down the line with negotiations for another piece of land in Zimbabwe for cultivation and production of cannabis for medicinal and scientific use.

“Our growth will begin in the second quarter of 2020, the groundwork is currently in progress upon arrival of our greenhouse,” she said.

Not only will the project create 100 jobs, which are forecast to progressively rise to 200, it will also help generate foreign currency and facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology.

Over the years, the production and use of marijuana has been illegal in Zimbabwe.

In many jurisdictions, especially Europe, North America and South America, controls on the production and consumption of the plant for both medicinal and recreational purposes have been relaxed.