Province explores cannabis to boost local sector

THE Western Cape government sees the agricultural sector as a key growth driver, and hopes new crop varieties including cannabis can help expand the local economy.

The province launched a plan that will ultimately pave the way for residents to farm cannabis for commercial use, according to MEC for agriculture Ivan Meyer.

“We are currently developing a CanPlan for the Western Cape to take advantage of the huge international interest and new market opportunities,” Meyer told Weekend Argus.

“When that plan is ready, I will also develop an implementation plan for the rollout of cannabis farming for commercial use.”

MEC for finance Mireille Wenger said she was also open to exploring cannabis as a means to stimulate the economy. “However, the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes is regulated by Sahpra (South African

Health Products Regulatory Authority) and not provinces.”

In 2018 the Constitutional Court officially legalised marijuana for private use. However, dealing, selling or smoking it outside the confines of one’s home remains an illegal practice – it can only be used by the grower or given as a gift.

Economist Dawie Roodt said adding cannabis to the local economy would not help. “Everyone these days wants to farm with cannabis. I don’t think that will have such a huge impact on the economy,” he said.

Another trade expert, Ulrich Joubert, said the farming of cannabis would definitely be profitable. “If the industry in the province starts to export cannabis to the rest of the world, it can surely grow the purse of the provincial government,” Joubert said.

“But it will take years before that level can and will be reached.”

Economist and political analyst Dr Dale McKinley said the time was ripe “for cannabis and hemp to become a major part of South Africa’s agricultural income”.

“It’s very concerning that the state and Parliament has been dragging its heels on this front, so it’s good to know that the Western Cape is moving forward with its plans in this regard,” Mckinley said.

The Western Cape’s agriculture sector is going strong, bolstered in part by a surge in fruit exports, according to the Provincial Economic Review and Outlook (Pero) tabled this week.

“In the context of a relatively slow economic performance over the last decade, the agriculture sector significantly outperformed other sectors in the province,” said Wenger in her maiden Pero report.

However, infrastructure challenges have been flagged as a barrier towards further growth in this industry.

Climate change has been identified as another risk to the sector as the Western Cape is becoming prone to droughts and wildfires.

Farm attacks and murders are also said to have had a dire impact.