Cannabis Regulatory Authority (CRA) of Malawi is inviting interested parties and members of the public to their exhibition at the 21st National Agriculture Fair running from Thursday 28 August until Saturday 30 August 2025 at Trade Fair Grounds in Blantyre.
CRA Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager Fanny Namonde said the focus of the CRA presence will be to disseminate information about licensing and regulation and added that the organisation will be looking forward to meeting prospective farmers and investors at the fair.
Malawi’s well-organised, CRA-led cannabis experiment has enabled it to emerge as a leading exporter on the African continent, five years after it legalised the growing of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes, gaining the admiration of fellow African countries and the international community.
Neighbouring Zambia has gone as far as sending inspection delegations to Malawi in a bid to learn from the country’s successful cannabis foray. The Zambia Defence Force National Service (ZDFNS) is currently the only entity in Zambia legally permitted to cultivate and sell industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis whereas Malawi has opened the doors wider to include cooperatives and private investors, creating sustainable employment in agriculture and manufacturing.
CRA Director-General Dr Salipira Ketulo has said the Cannabis Regulation Act that decriminalised the cultivation of medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp in 2020 had unlocked “significant commercial opportunities”. The Cannabis Regulation Act No. 6 of 2020 decriminalised cannabis (including C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis) and permitted its use for medicinal, industrial, and scientific applications. However, recreational use remains illegal.
Some of the licensed cultivators, exporters, and manufacturers in Malawi include Invegrow, Genscore Africa Ltd, Mbabzi Estate, Canna Matrix, Nexgen Limited,
CPG Investments, Malawi Gold Ltd, Kamphulu Farmers Partnership, among others, supplying markets in Portugal, Germany and Macedonia.
These have benefitted from tax breaks and investment incentives provided by the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) and the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) which in turn has enabled the country’s relatively quick off taking.
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