The legislation, the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2022, is intended to open the market to a wider range of hemp genetics and business in local seed research, development, and production in addition to expanded options for farmers.
Because of the increased THC level, it will enable hemp farmers greater production efficiency for CBD. Majority of countries have a 0.3% THC limit. The changes will also mean Zimbabwe farmers won’t have to worry about their crops going over the THC threshold.
Zimbabwe is among Australia, Ecuador, Malawi, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Uruguay in increasing the THC level allowed in industrial hemp from 0.3% to 1%.
According to the law amendment: “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 opened up the domestic market for CBD as a traditional herbal medicine last year, expanding upon previous laws which had allowed production only for export.
New CBD products are currently being tested by the Medicines Control Authority (MCA) of Zimbabwe, which the government hopes will enhance their acceptance by consumers and ensure the quality of exports.
The government sees industrial hemp as a replacement for the country’s falling prospects in tobacco, which makes up roughly 20% of Zimbabwe’s exports. Contraction in the tobacco industry has contributed to stagnation which has beset the country’s economy for nearly two decades despite the African nation’s vast wealth of natural resources.
Industrial hemp has been identified as a crop of interest in the government’s Vision 2030 program, which aims to advance agricultural profitability and rural development.
The government has established the Zimbabwe Industrial Hemp Trust (ZIHT), a development initiative set up to assist farmers in starting up hemp operations, and to look for new export markets for their hemp outputs.
Photo by: Boris Ulzibat
