The Department of Agriculture recently hosted a delegation from Zambia for an exchange of cannabis and hemp knowledge and to explore the benchmarking of regional standards.
Dubbed the ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ because of the army’s insignia featuring the buffalo and the reference to the Bob Marley hit song, Zambia’s senior officers, have been tasked with rescuing Zambian cannabis.
According to the DoA, the Zambian delegation, led by Major General Reuben Mwewa (pictured above), were in Gauteng from 14 to 18 July 2025 for official meetings and private sector engagements.
The visit is part of Zambia’s effort to develop its cannabis sector which has struggled to get off the ground since the cultivation and export of medical and industrial cannabis was legalized in 2019.
Critics have pointed to the high costs of licensing and capex required as barriers to entry, particularly for small-scale farmers.
Government’s response has been to put the army in charge. The Zambian National Defence Force is currently believed to be the only cannabis licence holder in the country and has earmarked approximately 130 000 ha in western Zambia for cannabis cultivation by smallholder farmers.
Maj Gen Mwewa, who is 2IC in Zambia’s military hierarchy, took his top brass on a fact-finding mission to Malawi in March to understand how it was growing its cannabis and hemp sector.
The July visit to South Africa is a continuation of the ZDF’s southern African cannabis recce and one of the aims was for the two countries to agree on the benchmarking of cannabis and hemp products.
The DoA’s Acting Chief Director for Plant Production and Health, Jan-Hendrik Venter, officially welcomed the delegates, emphasising the importance of regional collaboration in unlocking the economic, medicinal and industrial potential of cannabis and hemp.
“We are pleased to embark on a knowledge exchange on cannabis benchmarking exercise with Zambia. We are the pioneers of cannabis and believe that this meeting is going to help both countries. This is a reflection of our shared vision and we can agree that the cannabis sector is still relatively small, but with potential to grow,” he said.
The DoA is currently developing expected to developing a Good Agricultural Cultivation Practices Standards, which will be applicable to all holders of a permit to cultivate cannabis.
The ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ also visited CBD Full Spectrum Pty Ltd in Vanderbijlpark, VitaCann Pharm Pty Ltd in Mogale City and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).
A thread running through the visit was discussion around sustainable regulatory models and support systems for smallholder farmers and agri-processors dealing with cannabis and hemp.
South Africa and Zambia agreed to share experiences and expertise about these fast-emerging green economy products going forward.
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