Zimbabwe President Orders $27 Million Medicinal Cannabis Plant

Zimbabwe’s president reportedly commissioned a $27 million farm and processing plant to grow medicinal cannabis on Wednesday.

Business Insider reports that President Emmerson Mnangagwa “commissioned the medical cannabis farm and processing facility at Mount Hampden established by Swiss Bioceuticals Limited in the Western Province, Zimbabwe, to produce cannabis (mbanje or dagga) for medicinal and scientific purposes.” It was stated in a speech that “the rapid development of the processing plant, which adds significant value to the crop, was a testament to the success of the government’s engagement policy and the confidence of Swiss companies and investors in Zimbabwe and its economy.”

“This milestone is a testament to the achievements of my government’s engagement and re-engagement policies. It also demonstrates the confidence Swiss companies have in our economy through their continued investments in Zimbabwe. I warmly congratulate Swiss Bioceuticals Limited on their timely investment in the $27 million medicinal cannabis farm, processing facility and value chain,” Mnangagwa said in a speech on Wednesday, as quoted by Business Insider.

Business Insider reported that the president “added that investors should follow the company’s example and open their business, supporting the mantra of ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ and ready to generate foreign exchange for the country.”

The farm’s announcement comes nearly three years after the country scrapped its laws prohibiting cannabis cultivation as it sought to produce a new crop for export. A year earlier, in 2018, the country legalized medicinal cannabis.

The lifting of the ban is part of a concerted effort by Zimbabwe to break away from its long-time main exporter, tobacco, of which it is the continent’s leading producer.

With tobacco exports bringing in far less money for Zimbabwe’s farmers and producers than they used to, many in the country’s industry have switched to cannabis production.

Reporting on the lifting of cannabis bans in 2019, Bloomberg noted that the country was trying to “boost export earnings and balance the global campaign against tobacco, a major source of foreign exchange,” which Zimbabwean officials said at the time was doing so initially focus on hemp and medicinal cannabis.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported extensively on the country’s fledgling medicinal 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 is currently earning from its top agricultural export tobacco.”

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

“We’re going to sell cannabis at $25 a kilogram, which is five, six times more than what can give you a good tobacco crop. We are indeed sitting on a green gold mine,” Nyanungo told Reuters.

Nyanungo has a US-based partner in “King Kong Organics who supplies seeds and other inputs greenhouses have purchased under an off-take agreement that provides that the company will purchase the cannabis crop for processing.”

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

“I challenge other players within the medical cannabis sub-sector to quickly build their businesses with a focus on value creation and monetization. It’s disappointing that only 15 of the 57 companies issued have operated cannabis since 2018 [licenses] have been in operation,” Mnangagwa said, as quoted by Business Insider.