Tawanda Musarurwa

Zimbabwe legalised the production of industrial hemp — a variety of the cannabis sativa (mbanje) plant species — in 2019 with the long-term goal of making it a top foreign-currency earner like tobacco.

But to reach this goal, more farmers need to take up production of the crop countrywide.

The Tobacco Research Board (TRB) is currently carrying out research on various varieties to ascertain whether they are suited to local climate.

TRB chief executive officer Dr Dahlia Garwe said they are engaging authorities over studying locally available hemp varieties.

“Industrial hemp is an alternative because it grows in those marginal areas that tobacco does very well too; therefore, we have embarked on a project to determine the best variety to grow in the country and also to look at the agronomic practices that work well with growing industrial hemp locally,” she said.

“Zimbabwe itself does have varieties. We know that most of them are illegal, but we need to be looking at them as varieties that will give us a basis for genetics that can be adapted for use in our country, and we will be making an appeal to the authorities to allow us to work with some of this material for strictly research purposes so that we use material that is locally adapted, and then breed them in line with the international varieties so that we come up with a project that is best suited for local production,” she said.

The research process, Dr Garwe said, can take up to three years, but can be expedited subject to funding.

“For most research work, we need about three years or so. However, in this particular case, if we are allowed to use local varieties, we can actually cut down on the time. But generally, we would say about three to five years to reach a point where we can say which varieties are best for Zimbabwe.

“And to reach a point where small-scale farmers can begin to take up hemp farming, it really depends on how much resources are availed at this point.”

In 2019, the country decriminalised production of industrial hemp for industrial purposes, and Statutory Instrument 218 of 2020 has since been promulgated to guide local production.

The global industrial hemp market was estimated at US$5 billion in 2019.

And the market, which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34 percent, is forecast to grow to US$36 billion by 2026.

TRB’s current research is focused on imported industrial hemp.

“What we have done is that we imported 12 varieties from abroad, and of those, we noted varieties which we can say are very good and adaptable for the country.

“But one thing that we see with the imported varieties is the issue of photo-period sensitivity; that is, sensitivity to daylight hours,” she said.

“These varieties we are working with are coming from outside the country, where day length is longer than here in Zimbabwe. The most daylight hours that we have in Zimbabwe are 12 hours and 36 minutes, but for most these varieties they are adjusted to 14 hours or even longer.

“Then we are looking at the different types of industrial hemp; that is, those that are good for the fibre, those that are good for the seeds, etcetera.”

Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) CEO Clever Isaya said the country is targeting to reach annual foreign currency generation of US$100 million over the next five years.

“We are looking at a contribution of around US$100 million from industrial hemp in as far as what we can generate as a country but we are looking at achieving these figures possibly in five years,” he said.

Twelve producers have been licensed so far.

“We are still inviting other investors that are interested in investing in industrial hemp. So those that have got their business plans in place are free to approach us and we can go through their applications. There is still space for a number of players in the industrial hemp,” said Mr Isaya.

Industrial hemp has diverse industrial uses such as textile, pharmaceutical, food, beverage, personal care, construction and material, furniture and paper.