In a suburb of Johannesburg, green leaves adorn the walls of a school where students learn how to grow cannabis. However, smoking weed is prohibited. The co-founder of the institution, which bills itself as Africa's first cannabis academy, says he wants to remove the stigma surrounding marijuana.
“It is important for us to professionalize this industry and remove stigmas.” The academy hopes for a worldwide reconsideration of regulations surrounding the cultivation, use and sale of weed.
Cannabis impulse
In Africa, tiny Lesotho gave the green light to medical cannabis cultivation in 2017, paving the way for others such as Zimbabwe, Malawi and South Africa. Legalization can be a major boost to the economy. President Cyril Ramaphosa said last year that marijuana has huge potential to attract investment and create more than 130.000 new jobs. A huge step for a country with an ailing economy and massive unemployment.
The Cheeba Cannabis Academy is preparing students to participate in the anticipated large-scale legalization of the cultivation, use and sale of cannabis. The industry needs training and education in order to develop.
Growing cannabis at school
School days start with a yoga session, from a holistic approach, covering topics such as business, nutrition and futurism. On a Thursday morning, about a dozen students sit at wooden desks before donning white coats to enter a lab at the back of the classroom.
There, Darian Jacobsen, a passionate cultivation teacher, demonstrates various pruning techniques before moving on to some of the tips that students jot down in their notebooks. "She's not dead, sick or dying, she's just a little thirsty," says 28-year-old Jacobsen of a hanging plant he pulls out of a grow tent.
The academy started offering online classes in 2020 before moving to its current premises in Johannesburg last year. The cannabis course lasts 12 weeks and costs about $1.600. The school has trained about 600 people so far and hopes to gain support from the government, which has announced grand but so far vague plans for cannabis. South Africa's highest court decriminalized private and personal use of marijuana in a landmark 2018 ruling.
It has tasked parliament with drafting legislation, but there are still many ambiguities leading to confusion over exactly what is allowed, says Simon Howell, a researcher at the University of Cape Town. Selling cannabis is only allowed for medical purposes.
Best conditions
Cannabis clubs, a system where members pay to have their plants tended, have sprung up across the country, but the legality of the concept is currently being tested in court. The government has now issued hundreds of permits to grow hemp and medicinal weed. But even here, the industry is struggling to get off the ground, analysts say.
In theory, South Africa has what it takes to become a major exporter. Costs are often lower than in many other countries such as Canada because manpower is relatively cheap. The weather is good and the local currency relatively weak.
“We have a lot of sun and land here, old growers and experience,” said Trenton Birch, co-founder of Cheeba. Cannabis cultivation has been a tradition in parts of the country for over a century.
Future of cannabis
Still, critics say the licensing system excludes smallholders who have been growing weed illegally for decades, with start-up costs hovering around $XNUMX million. Many large growers are also struggling, says pharmaceutical expert and cannabis entrepreneur Johann Slabber.
They produce more than enough to meet local needs, but cannot export to Europe – the main target market – because their quality standards are too low. When local growers want to raise this standard, it means starting from scratch.
Of the nearly 100 licensed medical cannabis growers, only five are currently exporting on a large scale, he says. The government has promised to streamline regulations to help the market. Slabber: “Starting up a production facility that buys the produce from cannabis farmers and then processes it to European standards and exports it could also work.”
Despite all the challenges, many people expect the industry to have a chance to succeed. According to various estimates, the global market is expected to rise to $2028 billion by 272. According to market research firm Insight Survey, South Africa's share is expected to rise from $5 million in 2026 to $22 million in 2026. In anticipation of an increase in demand for specialist labour, other education providers have also taken this path.
Source: Africanews.com (EN)
