EC embarks on efforts to become the country’s cannabis industry.
26 Farmers receive their hemp seeds in Coega - Eastern Cape
SABC News- Lerato Fekisi
30 January 2025
Twenty-six Eastern Cape farmers have received hemp seeds as part of a R1 billion investment by Medigrow and the Coega Special Economic Zone in Gqeberha. The venture is part of an initial R100 million investments in an indoor cannabis cultivation project.
The handing over of the seeds marked the launch of the province’s campaign to become the hub of the country’s cannabis industry.
The indoor cannabis cultivation facility will perform various tasks, such as cannabidiol extraction, packaging and cigarette manufacturing.
The project, on a 10,000-hectare piece of land, will see the processing of cannabis for various medicinal products and oils, and will create about 30,000 job opportunities when fully operational.
“These machines are going to really assist our farmers to diversify the production of cannabis, to make sure they can be real owners of their produce and also ensure they are part of the value chain. We want farmers to show the rest of the country how economic spin-offs and benefits of trading cananbis,” says Nonceba Kontsiwe, Eastern Cape MEC for Agriculture.
Small-scale rural farmers currently growing cannabis illegally will be properly licenced and given hemp seeds to grow the cannabis plant, which will be sent to the Medigrow facility where it will be processed and transformed into finished products for export.
“This is not a sword turning and we are now putting the first brick. We have done really well with the land given to us and next year, we would like some more land because there are so many farmers who want to tap into cannabis manufacturing. We would really like government to give more funding to farmers because without money, we can’t do much,” says Thami Madliwa, Eastern Cape Hemp Producers Association.
Medigrow has been operating as a consultancy for medicinal cannabis producers, assisting them to obtain the required legislative licenses. To operate legally in the cannabis industry, a licence should be obtained from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.
Medigrow says about 100 licences have been issued in South Africa.
“We are so excited about these seeds because for many of us farming is the only way we put food on the table. I’m also happy that government is keen to commercialise cannabis, because we know how big this market is,” a farmer said.
“There are so many ways one can grow cannabis, and this new equipment is going to help us diversify the use of cannabis and hemp. I can’t wait to start and see the economic spinoffs this hemp will have on us EC farmers,” another farmer said.
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