Farmers in Zimbabwe are pivoting from the country’s traditional staple crops like corn to a new lucrative crop—hemp production. Leaders in the country, however, are more worried about any disruptions to food security locally than the potential economic boon hemp will likely bring to the country.

Agriculture contributes about 18% to Zimbabwe’s total gross domestic product (GDP), and maize or corn is the country’s staple crop and accounts for a substantial proportion of the lion’s share of fertilizers that are used, the Zimbabwe Food and Agriculture Organization reports. Corn crops are followed by millet and sorghum, in terms of prevalence.

The country also adopted a unique hemp program compared to other countries. In February 2023, Zimbabwe increased the THC limit for industrial hemp from 0.3% to 1%, making significant changes for the African country’s hemp industry. That changes everything, as even 1% THC is enough to allow for products with low psychoactive effects. International companies have taken note and are utilizing growth through Zimbabwean hemp.

The rapid changes in Zimbabwe’s economy is promising but it also creates a few new concerns. ZimEye reports that the country’s hemp industry is governed by the country’s Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA), and the shift into hemp production signals a new era for Zimbabwe’s economy, which has historically been rooted in food production. 

However, this pivot towards industrial hemp cultivation raised concerns over the potential negative impacts on the nation’s food security, challenging Zimbabwe’s agricultural legacy: The 1975 UN World Book records highlighted Zimbabwe—then called Rhodesia—as having the fastest-growing crop economy.

International interest in Zimbabwean hemp is increasing. Zimbabwe has exported over 8,000 tons of hemp to countries such as Poland, Switzerland, and Germany. Plantiqua Hemp, a Poland-based company, for instance, to enhance the quality and marketability of Zimbabwean hemp.

This makes AMA agribusiness director Jonathan Mukuruba optimistic about this new sector that’s growing in strength. “The future of industrial hemp in Zimbabwe looks very promising… with a growing interest in the sector, Zimbabwe is on track to emerge as a regional leader in industrial hemp production,” Mukuruba said.

Zimbabwe’s poverty rate hit nearly 40% in 2019, which is why food security is crucial in any decision for local leaders. “Poverty” is defined in the country as people who make less than $2.15 per day.

 “The challenge lies in balancing the cultivation of crops for industrial purposes with the imperative to ensure food security,” stated Dr. Frank Magama, CEO of Kutsaga Research Station. “As we explore the potential of hemp, we must also consider our longstanding tradition of food production and the critical importance of maintaining food security.”

Kutsaga Research Station is conducting research to identify hemp varieties suitable for Zimbabwe. 

Zimbabwe’s Shifting Economy and Hemp

That’s changing quickly in the African country as nearly all forms of cannabis were illegal prior to changes made in 2018. 

In 2018, Zimbabwe became the second nation in Africa to legalize medical cannabis and cannabis production for medical and scientific purposes. Since then, Zimbabwe officials registered over sixty entities in the hemp production, trade, and research sectors since the market took off in 2018.  In 2019, Zimbabwe abolished its ban on cannabis cultivation, which set the stage for the country’s farmers to begin cultivating industrial hemp to export. That same year, the country issued the first license to a medical cannabis company to begin cultivation.

In May 2022, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa commissioned a $27 million medical cannabis farm and processing plant to be run by Swiss Bioceuticals Limited in West Province, Zimbabwe.

The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe said on July 26, 2022 that it would begin accepting applicants from cannabis and hemp producers, manufacturers, importers, exporters, and retail pharmacists, in a seismic shift away from tobacco.

Higher THC caps make the country’s hemp unique.

Zimbabwe Independent reported that the THC level increase makes significant changes for CBD manufacturers, who will now be able to produce the entourage effect combined with other cannabinoids. 

The amended bill, called the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, 2002 is proposing the amendment of section 155 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) to remove industrial hemp from the list of dangerous drugs.

“By the insertion of the following definition,” the bill reads, “‘Industrial hemp’ means the plant cannabis sativa L and any part of that plant, including the seed thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts and salts of isomers, whether growing or not with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than one per centum on a dry weight basis.”

With looser restrictions on hemp farming, the plant could replace maize or corn eventually as the country’s next staple crop.

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The landlocked country of Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland), located in southern Africa, recently made a move to legalize medical cannabis.

According to a report from VOA Zimbabwe, King Mswati III and the Eswatini government have introduced medical cannabis legislation hoping that it will help curb illegal sales and allow the country to benefit from tax revenue. “The legislation will also provide measures to guard against increasing the black market,” said spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo. “This has robbed government taxes, Eswatini, an opportunity to grow their economy and robbed even the farmers themselves who have been trying to make a living using this cannabis. We look forward to the unbanning of the cannabis plant as an opportunity to develop the country, our economy and to empower Eswatini themselves.”

Currently only one company, Profile Solutions, has been approved to be a legal cannabis cultivator in Eswatini.

If medical cannabis is legalized in the country, it would amend a statue that was implemented by the British in 1922 through the Opium and Habit-forming Drugs Act. British control over Eswatini lasted from 1903-1968, but the country’s name of Swaziland wasn’t changed to its current name until 2018.

VOA Zimbabwe obtained a statement from Dr. Thys Louren, a medical practitioner with Occupational Health Eswatini, who believes that medical cannabis legalization would provide a multitude of benefits for the country. “I stand here urging for the transformative change of Eswatini’s health care landscape toward a healthier and more sustainable Eswatini,” Louren said. “It is not just a medical decision but a holistic solution for our patients, community and economy.”

The news outlet also spoke with Business Eswatini CEO E. Nathi Dlamini, who explained the necessity of bringing Eswatini up to speed with the global medical cannabis industry. “Many countries are well ahead in this regard in terms of developing industries to support investment, create jobs which by the way, we desperately need,” Dlamini said. “As Business Eswatini, we are very thankful that from the highest authority of the land now, we are beginning to be one-minded on this.”

Additionally, residents such as merchant Maqhawe Tsabedze admitted that he’s put his kids through school while thriving from illegal cannabis businesses. “The decriminalization of cannabis will help a lot and will perhaps stop police from raiding and confiscating our products, which we make a living from selling,” Tsavedze said. “Rain or sunshine, we make sure we put bread on the table so that our children do not go to bed on empty stomachs. Since there are no jobs, we make a living from selling cannabis on the streets.”

The medical cannabis legalization proposal has only been introduced, and requires a three-fourths vote in both the House of Assembly and Senate before it can be passed into law.

Previous attempts to get medical cannabis legalized in Eswatini have fallen short. One version was tabled by the Eswatini Ministry of Health in 2020, and resurfaced in May 2023, according to a report from Semafor Africa. The news outlet spoke with the Eswatini Cannabis Association (ESA) at the time, who explained that the proposed bill would establish a Medicines Regulatory Authority to “import, export, and trade in, by wholesale, cannabis and cannabis products.” “They cannot be both the referee and the player at the same time,” said ESA chair Saladin Magagula at the time. “You cannot as an authority give yourself an export and import license while also issuing the same to people.”

However, farmers who rely on illegally cultivating for their livelihood voiced concerns about legalization. “Lomtsetfo [the law’ might make things worse because the rich companies will become our competition,” said an anonymous farmer.

Eswatini is home to more than 1 million people, and a large percentage of which suffer from HIV/AIDS. In 2021, The Guardian covered how older women were illegally cultivating cannabis (called “Swazi Gold”) to help both their families as well as children who were orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. “Poverty led me into this business,” one woman said. “There are no jobs. These children need to go to school but there is no help at all from government. I have to commit crime, farming weed, to ensure I take care of them. I had three children but they all passed away, leaving me with five grandchildren to care for. All my children were HIV positive and they died because of that. I also take care of two other children, relatives to my late husband, whose parents are also dead.”

The country was also the feature of a documentary by Strain Hunters in April 2013, which explored both the cannabis industry as well as genetics unique to the region.

Other countries in Africa have begun to embrace cannabis. Medical cannabis sales were approved back in July 2022 in Zimbabwe. Last November, the South African National Assembly approved a cannabis bill that decriminalized cannabis, but did not legalize sales. It does, however, allow residents to cultivate their own plants for personal use.

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Zimbabwe increased the THC limit for industrial hemp from 0.3% to 1%, making significant changes for the African country’s hemp industry.

In 2018, Zimbabwe became the second nation in Africa to legalize medical cannabis and cannabis production for medical and scientific purposes.

Zimbabwe Independent reports that the THC level increase makes significant changes for CBD manufacturers, who will now be able to produce the entourage effect combined with other cannabinoids. 

The amended bill, called the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, 2002 is proposing the amendment of section 155 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) to remove industrial hemp from the list of dangerous drugs.

“By the insertion of the following definition,” the bill reads, “‘Industrial hemp’ means the plant cannabis sativa L and any part of that plant, including the seed thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts and salts of isomers, whether growing or not with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than one per centum on a dry weight basis.”

Zimbabwe, like many other countries, is technically in conflict with the United Nations international drug convention, which still dictates global drugs policy over the past 60 years.

However, by amending the legislation and providing clarified definitions as outlined in the Amendment Bill 2022, Zimbabwe is establishing an environment in which a wider range of line mixes and ultimately hemp varieties may be produced and supplied.

An increased THC level gives industrial hemp farmers a bigger trove of options, allowing them to select genetics worthy for the production of a broader range of markets.

This is particularly important, Zimbabwe Independent notes, because studies have shown that certain genetics that combine CBD and THC produce better fiber qualities and also an entourage effect with synergistic therapeutic benefits.

As new CBD products are currently being tested by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, they may be more effective and therefore more appealing to consumers.

The Tobacco Research Board (TRB) was directed to “reform and restructure by 2025,” making itself a center for national research, development, and innovation in tobacco and alternatives.

The country developed an objective to advance agricultural profitability and development in Zimbabwe. Industrial hemp was among the crops of interest. TRB has been testing and developing hemp varieties that are acclimated to Zimbabwe’s climatic conditions over the last few years.

The 0.3% THC requirement is an arbitrary quantity—mirroring THC limits in the U.S.—that makes it difficult for breeders to create and grow varieties with other desirable synergistic properties.

Five Years into Medical Cannabis in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe legalized medical cannabis in 2018, making it among the first countries in Africa to do so.

In 2019, Zimbabwe abolished its ban on cannabis cultivation, which set the stage for the country’s farmers to begin cultivating industrial hemp to export. That same year, the country issued the first license to a medical cannabis company to begin cultivation.

In May 2022, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa commissioned a $27 million medical cannabis farm and processing plant to be run by Swiss Bioceuticals Limited in West Province, Zimbabwe.

“This milestone is a testimony of the successes of my Government’s Engagement and Re-engagement Policy. It further demonstrates the confidence that Swiss companies have in our economy through their continued investment in Zimbabwe. I extend my profound congratulations to the Swiss Bioceuticals Limited for this timely investment in the medicinal cannabis farm, processing plant and value chain, worth US$27 million,” Mnangagwa said in the announcement of the plant.

The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe said on July 26, 2022 that it would begin accepting applicants from cannabis and hemp producers, manufacturers, importers, exporters, and retail pharmacists, in a seismic shift away from tobacco.

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The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe said on Tuesday that it is now accepting applicants from cannabis and hemp producers, manufacturers, importers, exporters, and retail pharmacists, the latest move by the southern African country to shift away from tobacco.

As Bloomberg reported, cannabis will be offered as “complimentary medicines given to patients,” marking the “first time” that Zimbabwe has permitted cannabis to be sold.

The authority spelled out a host of conditions for applicants, advising that they must submit both product samples and “certificates of analysis from an accredited laboratory specifying the quantities of the active moieties of cannabidiols and any traces of tetrahydrocannabinols as part of the information in the dossier.”

“Any Hemp-based CBD product applications that do not meet the criteria above may not be approved for distribution, and will be confiscated,” the Medicines Control Authority warned. “Further, sellers may be prosecuted for selling unapproved complementary medicines.”

Zimbabwe legalized medical cannabis in 2018, making it among the first countries in Africa to do so.

The policy was motivated by economic realities. Long the country’s leading export, tobacco sales have fallen worldwide, forcing farmers and lawmakers in Zimbabwe to rethink its approach to agriculture.

Zimbabwe brought in $819 million in revenue from tobacco last year, according to Bloomberg, although the expected “demand for cannabis is projected to continue to grow while tobacco [the country’s] output globally may decline 15% by 2030.”

Industry leaders have encouraged the country’s tobacco farmers “to plant cannabis so that a quarter of their income comes from the plant by 2025,” Bloomberg reported.

In 2019, Zimbabwe abolished its ban on cannabis cultivation, which set the stage for the country’s farmers to begin cultivating industrial hemp to export. That same year, the country issued the first license to a medical cannabis company to begin cultivation.

Last year, according to Bloomberg, Zimbabwe “exported 30 tons of industrial hemp to Switzerland last year, its first foray into the European market.”

In May, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa commissioned a $27 million medical cannabis farm and processing plant to be run by Swiss Bioceuticals Limited in West Province, Zimbabwe.

“This milestone is a testimony of the successes of my Government’s Engagement and Re-engagement Policy. It further demonstrates the confidence that Swiss companies have in our economy through their continued investment in Zimbabwe. I extend my profound congratulations to the Swiss Bioceuticals Limited for this timely investment in the medicinal cannabis farm, processing plant and value chain, worth US$27 million,” Mnangagwa said in the announcement of the plant, as quoted by Business Insider.

Mnangagwa has been a vocal booster of the country’s medical cannabis program, often saying that Zimbabwe is “open for business” to the industry.

Business Insider reported at the time that Mnangagwa “also urged other investors with permits to quickly operationalize their permits and licenses for the benefit of the economy in general and people in particular.”

“I challenge other players within the medicinal cannabis sub-sector to speedily set up their enterprises, focusing on value addition and beneficiation. It is disappointing that since 2018, only 15 out of the 57 entities issued with cannabis operating [licenses] have been operational,” Mnangagwa said, as quoted by Business Insider.

Mnangagwa urged investors to “follow [Swiss Bioceuticals Limited’s] lead and open their business to support the mantra that ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ and be ready to generate foreign currency generation for the country.”

With experts forecasting the global cannabis industry to be worth $272 billion by 2028, Reuters reported that Zimbabwean officials have said “the country wants at least $1 billion of that — more than it currently makes from its top agricultural export tobacco.”

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The president of Zimbabwe on Wednesday reportedly commissioned a farm and processing plant for medical cannabis cultivation worth $27 million.

Business Insider reports that President Emmerson Mnangagwa “commissioned the medical cannabis farm, and processing plant at Mount Hampden set up by Swiss Bioceuticals Limited in West Province, Zimbabwe…to produce cannabis (mbanje or dagga) for medical and scientific purposes,” saying in a speech that “the rapid development of the processing plant, which adds significant value to the crop, was a testimony of the success of the Government’s engagement policy and the confidence Swiss companies and investors had in Zimbabwe and its economy.”

“This milestone is a testimony of the successes of my Government’s Engagement and Re-engagement Policy. It further demonstrates the confidence that Swiss companies have in our economy through their continued investment in Zimbabwe. I extend my profound congratulations to the Swiss Bioceuticals Limited for this timely investment in the medicinal cannabis farm, processing plant and value chain, worth US$27 million,” Mnangagwa said in a speech on Wednesday, as quoted by Business Insider.

Business Insider reported that the president “added that the investors should follow the company’s lead and open their business to support the mantra that ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business and be ready to generate foreign currency generation for the country.”

The announcement of the farm comes nearly three years after the country did away with its laws banning the cultivation of cannabis as it looked to produce a new crop to export. A year before that, in 2018, the country legalized medical cannabis.

The repeal of the ban is part of a concerted effort by Zimbabwe to pivot from its longtime major exporter, tobacco, of which it is the leading producer on the continent.

As tobacco exports bring in far less money to Zimbabwe farmers and producers than they used to, many in the country’s industry have shifted to cannabis production.

In reporting on the repeal of the cannabis ban in 2019, Bloomberg noted that the country was seeking “to boost export revenue and offset the global campaign against tobacco, a major source of foreign currency,” with Zimbabwe officials saying at the time that it would initially be focused on hemp and medicinal cannabis.

Earlier this week, Reuters detailed the country’s still-young medical cannabis industry and how farmers there have adapted.

Reuters, citing Barclays analysts, reported that the “global cannabis industry could be worth $272 billion by 2028,” and that “Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has said the country wants at least $1 billion of that—more than it currently makes from its top agricultural export tobacco.”

Reuters spotlighted a 35-year-old Zimbabwean grower named Munyaradzi Nyanungo, who has been issued one of the 57 cannabis operating licenses in the country.

“We stand to sell cannabis at $25 per kilogramme, which is five, six times more than what a good tobacco crop can give you. We are actually sitting on a green gold mine,” Nyanungo told Reuters.

Nyanungo has a U.S.-based partner in “King Kong Organics, which supplies seed and other inputs, purchased the greenhouses under an off-take agreement that will see the company buying the cannabis crop for processing.”

On Wednesday, Mnangagwa, the country’s president, “also urged other investors with permits to quickly operationalize their permits and licenses for the benefit of the economy in general and people in particular,” according to Business Insider.

“I challenge other players within the medicinal cannabis sub-sector to speedily set up their enterprises, focusing on value addition and beneficiation. It is disappointing that since 2018, only 15 out of the 57 entities issued with cannabis operating [licenses] have been operational,” Mnangagwa said, as quoted by Business Insider.

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Malawi has just followed Zimbabwe in reaffirming an intended agricultural switch from tobacco to cannabis. Both countries are doing so for economic survival as the long-term viability of tobacco is giving way to another crop entirely.

There are several interesting aspects to this trend beyond the transition to greener and more sustainable economies post-COVID. It has long been accepted that the cannabis legalization revolution would start to spread like wildfire once there were a couple of regions or countries that took the plunge. This phenomenon can be clearly seen within the domestic United States as more and more states move towards legalizing both medical and recreational use of the drug. While it is a mantra also repeated by those who wish to stymie reform, there is little anyone can do to stop what appears to be an escalating global trend.

Recently, however, as of the last month, this phenomenon is going global and involving whole regions. In Central America, for example, both Honduras and Nicaragua just declared their interest in at least examining cannabis cultivation within a matter of weeks. 

So have Zimbabwe and Malawi.

In Africa, this is far more interesting just because of viability—as well as the momentum South Africa is clearly creating throughout the region, if not the entire continent. By declaring that cannabis is an important tool of economic development, they are clearly upping the stakes. In South Africa, officials have begun planning work on a so-called “cannabis hub” that will focus on everything from medical cultivation to phytoremediation. That is clearly influencing other countries regionally.

Both Malawi and Zimbabwe first announced that they were beginning to move from tobacco to cannabis cultivation during the pandemic. Now, such intent seems to be kicking into higher gear in both countries, as South Africa initiates a global call for participants in their ambitious project.

Like Zimbabwe, Malawi earns the vast majority of its foreign income from tobacco—in the case of the latter, contributing to over 60% of its economy. According to President Lazarus Chakwera, cannabis could be just the “exit strategy” from tobacco that the country needs. 

The country does not border either South Africa or Zimbabwe but sits just north of them and shares a common border with Mozambique (where cannabis is still illegal).

What this Means Regionally and Globally

The fact that cannabis reform is being increasingly touted as a form of development as well as foreign investment in multiple countries in Africa at this point (see also Morocco) is an interesting twist for several reasons beyond the issue of reform itself.

The first is that geopolitically, this strategic focus will attract more Western than Chinese capital. China has been a huge investor in the African continent for much of this century, investing in roads and other major infrastructure desperately needed here. Yet cannabis reform is clearly off the political table in China proper. While the country remains the world’s largest producer of hemp, it remains a crime to even possess hemp seeds on an individual basis. Southern Africa’s new interest in cannabis, for this reason, is unlikely to attract Chinese interest—but it certainly is garnering a lot of attention in the West.

Beyond geopolitical issues, the reality remains that the consumption of cannabis is growing globally—and for industrial, medical, and recreational purposes. Yet, as seen clearly in Europe, the expense of the regulated market is still contributing to high prices that both insurers and consumers don’t want to pay. A strong African cannabis market will play a huge role in bringing down this cost—just as it did for tobacco.

This does not, of course, mean that this new focus is a panacea—in Africa, South or Central America—or even western countries like Greece who have had the same idea.

However, what this new interest in cannabis as a form of both economic development if not environmental remediation seems to signify is that the world is moving towards legalization because of an inevitability that now cannot be held back or stopped. 

It is also a clear sign that the era of Prohibition is crumbling—and not just country by country, but now by regions.

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In Zimbabwe, tobacco exports brought the country $794 million in 2020, down from a high of $927 million in 2016. Tobacco is the country’s third most valuable export crop after gold and nickel matte. That said, it is also facing a rather existential threat as the industry faces challenges brought about by COVID, a drought and a shift in production heading for South Africa.

In contrast, authorities are already planning for cannabis to be the country’s largest cash crop with earnings well over a billion dollars within the next five years. Last year, the country exported 30 tons of industrial hemp to Switzerland with another 20 tons due to be exported this year.

Tobacco farmers are now being encouraged to switch to cannabis. The hope is that at least a quarter of their income is derived from cannabis sales in just the next three years.

57 companies have now received their licenses from the Zimbabwean government to grow cannabis.

A Change for Black Farmers?

One of the biggest problems Black farmers face in Zimbabwe in the current market, no matter what they cultivate, is that smaller farmers are being consistently squeezed by intermediaries who are the only chance they have to get their wares to market.

Since 2000, Black farmers have taken over former white farms after Robert Mugabe’s supporters seized white-owned plantations. This temporarily brought the tobacco farming industry in the country to a standstill. However, since 2008, the industry has recovered.

The problem that the vast majority of farmers in Zimbabwe still face, however, is access to the global market as well as capital and supplies necessary to plant and harvest their crops. Many smaller farmers are struggling to make a living in an environment where they must go into debt for seed, fertilizer, and equipment to plant and harvest their crops with contracted sellers who also literally pay pennies on the dollar for crops they sell at auction bound mostly for China.

This infrastructure was created when banks pulled out of the sector because the government has never formally transferred the land it seized from the previous owners to the farmers who currently plant crops on this land. The contracted sellers, often financed with Chinese funds, are able to get top dollar for the crops, but they pay farmers next to nothing.

This is gradually changing. According to Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka, tobacco farmers received 60% of the sales price for their tobacco in 2020, up from 50% in 2019.

While many farmers have been released from their obligations under this scheme on the tobacco side of the equation, there is nothing currently to suggest that a cannabis cultivation scheme would not create exactly the same problem.

Social Equity Still Scarce in Global Cannabis Industry

The terrible reality that still exists, globally, in the cannabis industry, is that no matter how lucrative it can be for a small minority of firms, most of these are founded and run by white people. Even in nations like the US and Canada, about 10% of executives are non-white. Indeed, according to recent data, both women and ethnic minorities continue to lose ground in the legitimizing industry globally.

In the developing world, the problem is even starker in large part because of historical inequities and the general unavailability of even loans to establish certified plantations.

This means that unless this problem is rectified, no matter how much focus governments put on cannabis cultivation and production as an “economic development tool,” the vast majority of such economic development, if not sales, will still go to a small (and mostly white, male) minority.

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