This archive report was first published on 7 August 2019.
On August 6, 2019, Zimbabwe's cabinet ministers announced plans to change the country's laws to permit the cultivation of industrial hemp for export.
Industrial hemp, a strain of cannabis grown for industrial purposes, is seen as a potential substitute for tobacco, Zimbabwe's largest export earner.
The plant's fibre is used in textiles and paper, and it also produces edible seeds.
Currently, Zimbabwe's laws only allow the cultivation of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes.
However, authorities have been slow to implement the process, citing the need to ensure cannabis farms are secure.
Acting Industry and Commerce Minister July Moyo stated, 'But with hemp, it's not toxic as cannabis,' and emphasized the need to amend the criminal code to avoid criminalizing hemp growers.
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa added, 'Industrial hemp will widen the country's industrial and export base.'
