The ambitious output announcement comes as Botswana is readying to commence a hemp cultivation pilot project at Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Sciences (BUAN) in line with a cannabis industry activation timeline of December President Duma Boko outlined earlier this month.
Delivering the PIP address, under the draft 12th National Development Plan (NDP) recently, Dikoloti highlighted the plan’s main features and objectives. These would include integrating modern cultivation systems, advanced processing facilities, and adherence to strict regulatory systems to ensure safety and quality international standards so as to guarantee global competitiveness and compliance.
Dikoloti reiterated the importance of private-public partnership in cannabis’s envisaged role to stimulate and diversify the national economy. President Boko has argued for the prioritisation of private capital in off taking. He has stated private finance can provide the bedrock to allow the sustainable participation of ordinary Batswana, including local farmers and entrepreneurs.
The Botswana government has in recent months been moving fast to incubate a hemp economy to head off a widening revenue deficit caused by falling demand for authentic diamonds. Cheaper lab-manufactured synthetics have dented the diamond export outlook for Botswana and diamond producing SADC neighbours, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.
Diamonds comprise 80% of Botswana’s exports, making it particularly vulnerable to the slowing demand for genuine gems.
To counter the synthetic diamonds, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and DRC in June pledged to spend 1% of annual diamond revenues on marketing natural stones.
Although DRC allows cannabis for industrial, medicinal and scientific use, Angola and Namibiahave yet to adopt enabling legislation but Namibian authorities recently confirmed a draft bill to decriminalise cannabis under certain circumstances. Diamonds comprise 10% of Namibia’s GDPbut its leading Skeleton Coast marine diamond mine is reportedly beset with problems includinghigh costs and low prices. Angola is Africa’s second largest diamond producer and is intensifying diversification into oil and agriculture to cope with the waning demand.
While Lesotho was the first African country in 2017 to legalise cannabis for scientific and industrial purposes, the local industry’s early gains have virtually been decimated by a range of factors including fraudulent licences and developments in Canada, home country to a majority ofearly foreign investors.
Diamonds make up 10% of Lesotho’s $2 billion GDP. However, the flagship Letseng mine early in September laid off 240 workers, a fifth of the workforce, citing dampened demand and unsustainable prices.
South Africa meanwhile is expected to earn $318.39-million in cannabis revenue in 2025, according to German-based data firm Statista. It is Africa’s top diamond producer by volume, with diamonds comprising 8% of mining output.
However, for the moment it is Botswana that is in the cannabis limelight. With diamonds employing as many as 20 000 people, it is positioning itself to become a leading cannabis exporter, to stimulate agro-industrial growth, create jobs and sustain thousands of livelihoods, and hopefully emerge out of its export-driven revenue crisis.
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