At the end of February, Commander Solochi, the general in charge of the national service of the army in Zambia, declared that the army would acquire land in several provinces of the country to cultivate medical cannabis plants. The planting should begin this month.
The cannabis industry is expected to create 3,000 jobs in the country. The project received the support of traditional chiefs and landowners from several Zambian provinces. They all agreed to cede part of their land to cultivate cannabis freely.
Cannabis legalization is delayed compared to other countries.
Unlike South Africa, Zimbabwe and Lesotho, Zambia has been reluctant to engage in the legalization of medical cannabis, especially for its cultivation and export. Currently, medical cannabis is prohibited for locals; however, cultivation and export are permitted.
“Zambia has some of the most ecologically rich soils in Africa and, given the massive size of the country, dense virgin lands which, on paper, are fantastic for top-quality cannabis. It is a mystery that Zambia has so far been absent from all the cannabis deals struck in Lesotho, South Africa, Malawi, or Zimbabwe,” said analyst Dennis Juru, of the South Africa International Cross Borders Traders Association.
According to local media, the Zambian parliament has only “approved the publication and introduction of a bill in parliament for the legalization of cannabis cultivation.”
“Zambia sees cannabis as a security crop, hence the military’s decision to pre-empt legalization to grab cannabis land,” said Deogracias Kalima, freelance ecology editor for Unsustainable magazine and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Malawi.
The country organizes a military regulation of cannabis cultivation.
Zambia is not the only African country whose army has decided to invest in the cultivation of cannabis. Zimbabwe, where cannabis has been legalized since 2018, has also militarized the cultivation of cannabis. In 2019, the Zimbabwe Police and Prison Service obtained the first licenses to cultivate cannabis plantations on prison sites for exports.
“The Zambian military, like its neighbor Zimbabwe, is the ultimate deep state. The military regulation of cannabis is, I think, a poor cannabis policy choice to build a weed industry,” explained Deogracias Kalima.
In Europe, the Italian army had begun to cultivate medical cannabis, the results of which had been catastrophic both in terms of quantity and quality. The Italian government decided to open the market to the private sector.
