‘Use it or lose it’ looms for unproductive cannabis licence holders
Brian Rungano Temba
President Mnangagwa has warned individuals and companies who received cannabis growing licences from Government but are yet to produce anything that they risk having those licenses revoked.
He called on players in the agro-industry to take advantage of Government policies and grow their enterprises.
President Mnangagwa made these remarks while commissioning the Swiss Bioceutical Plant at Arden Farm in Nyabira.
The plant is a Cannabis CBD oil production facility which sits on farm with five hectares under greenhouses all housing cannabis plants.
Both growing and value addition is done on-site.
President Mnangagwa called on other players who hold licenses for industrial cannabis to emulate Swiss Bioceuticals in setting up productive processes.
He said the Second Republic considering adopting the use it or lose it policy for those who are not showing seriousness.
“It is disappointing that since 2018, 15 out of 57 entities with cannabis operating licenses are operational. Such licenses should not be held for speculative purposes, and those not using them risk Government invoking the use it or lose it principle,” said President Mnangagwa.
He urged Science and Tech Hubs at Universities to use the availability of such initiatives to pursue breakthroughs in the virgin market of medicinal cannabis products.
President Mnangagwa also challenged the Management at Swiss Bioceuticals to increase the volume in production from 5 hectares to 15 hectares in order to tenfold production and labour intake that will benefit the youth and women of the Zvimba area the farm is situated.
According to Swiss Bioceuticals Chairman Mr Nigel Drummond, the company is targeting a work force of 1000 locally sourced labour by the year 2025.
Swiss Bioceuticals AG is a market-leading wholesaler of independently tested organic, solvent and pesticide free acidic cannabinoids and bulk terpenes.
Mr Drummond also said the uniqueness of their strain of medicinal Cannabis is that it does not require any solvents to extract the Cannabidiol (CBD) oil.
Their oil is derived by enzymatic extraction.
CBD is an oil derived from the cannabis plant.
Possible health benefits include reducing inflammation and pain.
To get a cannabis growing licence one has to go through vetting and security background checks by a board that consists of Ministry of Health and Child Care, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement and Security Forces before paying the licence fee.
Zimbabwe and Switzerland have a long-standing relationship, and with the coming of the Second Republic relations have only gotten better thanks to the Zimbabwe is Open for Business, Engagement and Re-Engagement policies.
Switzerland is one of the biggest European investor in Zimbabwe and Swiss companies such as Nestlé, Lafarge Holcim, Bata Shoe Company, Pure Africa, ABB, Schindler, Syngenta and Organic Africa play a leading role in job creation and generating income.
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