Image of CongoMedicPlant operations above, courtesty CODEP
Wow. Where did that come from?
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has quietly become one of the dominant forces in African cannabis, with the International Narcotics Control Board authorizing it to produce 20 000 kg of cannabis in 2026. That’s the same quantity allocated to South Africa at the beginning of the year, and there has been no upward revision since then.
There has been no official communication from Kinshasa about its emerging cannabis sector, which is under the regulatory authority of CODEP Sarl, a joint-venture parastatal linked to the national defence industry. CODEP, which stands for Congo Economic Priority was mandated by the DRC’s Ministry of Health (Ministerial Order N°1250/CAB/MIN/SPHP/2023) three years ago to be the main licensing authority for the cannabis industry.
It in turn has set up Greenmendic Sarl, the entity responsible for regulating, supervising, and facilitating the cultivation, processing and export of Cannabis sativa for medical and scientific purposes. Although it has administrative autonomy, CODEP reports directly to the Head of State.
The main player appears to be CongoMedicPlants, who’s MD, Professor John Kasuku, also happens to be deputy managing director of CODEP, an indicator of how closely entwined state and private sector are in the DRC’s fledgling cannabis sector.
CongoMedicPlants ( grows Canadian and Californian strains for the European medical cannabis market as well as Malawi Gold. It employs over 100 people for its operation which spans outdoor field cultivation, greenhouse-controlled environments, and indoor growing facilities — delivering four complete harvest cycles annually. It does not disclose which specific markets it is supplying.
In terms of other licensed facilities, only KKOG, shows up on an internet search – King Kingdom Oasis Group, formerly known as King Kong Organics – has rights to 1 000 ha for cultivation.
According to the Global Initiative Against Organized Transfrontier Crime, the DRC’s local cannabis market is well-established, despite strict laws against cultivation, sale and possession. Most cannabis is consumed locally, and a small portion is smuggled to neighbouring countries, including Rwanda, Angola and Uganda.
Smuggling routes include Kinshasa’s N’djili International Airport and the Port of Matadi.
Cannabis is a significant source of income for many Congolese, particularly indigenous communities, and has become socially accepted. However, it is less lucrative than other criminal markets.
Little is known about the huge illicit cannabis cultivation that takes place in the DRC, other than the late Franco Loja, (yes, he of Strain Hunters Mpondoland fame), introduced greenhouse cultivation to illicit local growers there in the 2010’s. His work in developing local genetics has been taken over by Green House Seeds’ Christophe Lardinois (aka ‘Kris Kongo’, who was one of the participants at ICS 2026 in Cape Town last month.
Lardinois told delegates that the DRC cannabis farmers he came across, shared the same sense of connectivity with the land that he experienced in Mpondoland during the filming of his documentary on the conflict between cannabis and mining in the area.
“The problem is that the Congo is so vast and so powerful that the locals believe resources are endless and this has led to the destruction of rain forests for illegal cultivation”.
He said that illegal cultivation flourished in the DRC and there was a vast black market, with only a handful of entities licensed to grow medical cannabis for export.
He said it was ironic that licensed facilities were indoor grows and that no natural sunshine was involved in cultivation of medical cannabis destined for Europe.
“There was talk that half of Kinshasa had to have its power switched off to enable an indoor facility to run” said Lardinois. “It’s crazy, in the DRC climate control is about switching on the aircon, not the heating; it makes no sense that they are no licensing outdoor grow operations.”
He said there had been progress by the government in trying to include small-scale farmers in producing biomass for licensed facilities – Cannabiz Africa understands there has been a pilot project involving about 300 farmers supplying an extraction facility.
“It’s better to export processed cannabis products from DRC” said Lardinois. “Flower is not feasible as it can be held up in customs for months”.
“The problem in DRC is that they think you can just buy your way through things. The guys want to know,’can’t we just pay someone to give us compliance’ and they’re not used to the answer – ‘No, you have to play by the rules’.
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