South Africa has developed a strategy for the development of the country's cannabis industry

The officials of our country do not have a developed strategy for the development of modern cannabis growing. "Servants of the people" not only do not study the experience of other economically developed countries in the field of modern cannabis growing in order not to make mistakes, but "step on the same rake", trying to worsen the situation of modern cannabis growing in Ukraine by various administrative measures, for example in essence, changes in regulatory documents, even now trying to significantly tighten their approaches to regulating quotas, which at the moment are not available in any country in the world. This problem is becoming so acute before the sowing company in 2022 that the specialized Association of National Hemp Growers is forced to raise this issue at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in order to avoid extremely negative consequences that will occur in the event of changes lobbied by representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in paragraph 37 of PKMU 589 - 2009 ...

The process of global investment in the latest development, processing, production, and marketing of various types of products and goods obtained from the cultivation of the hemp plant has led to the government of the Republic of South Africa presenting an investment and incentive plan for the public to use the enormous potential. pan-African region in the field of modern cannabis production. This document indicates that the market for the legal use of the hemp plant is estimated at almost € 2 billion, which can potentially create over 25 thousand jobs (taking into account the establishment of appropriate supply chains from 30 to 50 thousand), primarily in the depressed agricultural regions of the country. The document concludes that the development of industrial hemp growing will become a catalyst for attracting large foreign investments, which will become a locomotive for the development of the entire agricultural industry in the region.

The South African Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has released the results of a two-year research process to develop a national strategy for the commercialization of the hemp plant for both industrial and therapeutic uses for medical, scientific and recreational purposes. The document includes "lessons" from the experience of the major cannabis growers in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China. As the developers of the document emphasize, this was done in order to be able to “choose” the best strategy and avoid mistakes that have already been made in other countries.

"The creation of the hemp industry will diversify the South African economy and thus increase economic growth, create jobs and reduce poverty," said several government officials involved in the preparation of the document. According to South African government officials, the Department of Agriculture has already identified the regulatory measures that need to be implemented and focused on the need to analyze the risks associated with the "threat of gaining dominant market positions" by foreign private companies and industrial groups, primarily in the pharmaceutical sector. ...

The plan, developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, provides for the encouragement of the cultivation of technical hemp for use primarily in the food industry, as well as in the wine industry, the production of textiles and knitwear. At the initial stage, the document assumes an increase in the volume of cultivation of hemp raw materials, as well as saturation of the market with various kinds of hemp products. It is necessary to prepare an appropriate regulatory framework in order to “build a legally sound perimeter in which new import-export enterprises interested in developing within the framework of a large-scale project being prepared for implementation will operate”.

Commentary of the specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"

I would like to note a few key points displayed in this publication:

- the document was prepared by specialists from the Ministry of Agriculture of the country, and not by employees of any other authorities (for example, the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Internal Affairs);

- government agencies of one of the most highly developed countries in Africa are actively involved in studying the experience of modern cannabis farming in economically developed countries of the world in order to avoid mistakes that have already been made. Officials are trying not only to comprehensively approach issues related to the cultivation and processing of the hemp plant, but first of all they are thinking about how to create the investment conditions necessary to attract foreign investors to this sector of the country's economy;

- it is recognized that modern cannabis farming is a locomotive for the development of the entire agricultural sector of the country, as well as a catalyst for the creation of a huge number of jobs in depressed agricultural regions;

- South African government officials are worried about the possibility of the dominance of foreign companies, primarily in the field of hemp pharmacology, therefore it is planned to create conditions under which national pharmaceutical companies could effectively operate in the market for using the therapeutic properties of the hemp plant;

- The plan developed by state structures provides for the encouragement of the cultivation of hemp for use primarily in the food, wine industry, the production of textiles and knitwear.

To our deepest regret, the officials of our country do not have a developed strategy for the development of modern cannabis farming. "Servants of the people" not only do not study the experience of other economically developed countries in the field of modern cannabis growing in order not to make mistakes, but "step on the same rake", trying to worsen the situation of modern cannabis growing in Ukraine by various administrative measures, for example in essence, changes in regulatory documents, even now trying to significantly tighten their approaches to regulating quotas, which at the moment do not exist in any country in the world. This problem becomes so acute before the sowing company in 2022 that the specialized Association of National Hemp Growers is forced to raise this issue at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in order to avoid extremely negative consequences that will occur in the event of changes lobbied by representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in paragraph 37 of PKMU 589 - 2009 .