Cannabis has long been a controversial subject across the globe, but in South Africa, it is a crop that has been grown for centuries by the San-Khoi and Mpondo people, albeit done so illicitly for the recreational and other purposes. 

Due to this history, certain cannabis strains have established themselves within the Mpondoland area and hence their reference as cannabis landrace strains used by Mpondo growers to supply the local and international recreational markets. 

Building relations with the Mpondoland Cannabis Landrace Indigenous Cannabis Growers:

The ECRDA has been cognisant of the fact that any legal cannabis economy development in the Eastern Cape should be underpinned by the mainstreaming of the of indigenous cannabis growers in the legal cannabis economy. 

The ECRDA provided material support towards the formalisation of household-based cannabis landrace growing families from the five traditional cannabis landrace growing local municipalities of Mpondoland. This culminated in the establishment of the Mpondoland Cannabis Belt Association. 

Legal Cannabis Commercial Pathway: 

Upon the completion of the development of an enabling cannabis regulatory framework in South Africa which will be underpinned by a form of permit/license system as a form regulating all the players in the different commercial cannabis industrial value chains. Any legal cannabis commercial pathway will certainly involve the use of globally accepted primary produce and manufactured products quality standards.   

It is well known fact that the Cannabis landrace markets (local) that was dominated by Mpondoland indigenous cannabis growers have been eroded by the widespread cultivation of the imported high-THC foreign seeds, e.g., Dutch Cheese, Exodus, etc. Product consistency, high delta-9 THC concentration, packaging, price affordability and user experience underpinned by cannabis social clubs product screening mechanism to meet end-user recreational use experience and product guarantee have accelerated this market erosion for the cannabis landrace strains. 

To improve the competitiveness of the Mpondoland Indigenous Cannabis Growers using cannabis landrace strains, requires: 

• that new markets are developed based on the cannabinoid profiles for the local cannabis landrace linked to market offtakes; 

• most importantly, is the registration of the cannabis landrace to be registered commercial seeds. Cannabis commercial offtakers require certainty on seed technical specification and what guarantees the producer on the performance of the seed to give scientifically proven yields, such as percentage range of active pharmaceutical ingredient for the registered seeds. 

Cross-Contamination Concern of Cannabis Landrace Strain as Raised by MCBA

It is an undeniable fact that withing the Mpondoland region, there are primary producer enterprise that applied for the hemp permit from the National Department of Agriculture. The Department is the regulatory authority that issue hemp permits. 

The ECRDA mandate is to support hemp cultivation permit holder primary producers in the province to introduce them in commercial hemp cultivation. 

To avoid the resource trap challenges, whereby hemp cultivation permit holder primary producers receive hemp seed to cultivate but no offtaker of their produce, the province facilitated first investment in cannabis. The investor is Medigrow. The company has set its operations at the Coega SEZ in Gqeberha. 

Medigrow should be commended for committing to an outgrower program for the primary production of hemp flower in which some of the hemp cultivation permit holder farmers will enter into a commercial offtake with the company. 

It is a well-known fact that in the legal commercial cannabis/hemp flower subsector destined for international markets, the international buyer determines the seed to be used for which the market and regulatory compliance exist from importing country. 

For the Medigrow outgrower program, a feminised female autoflower seeds were chosen and supplied to the selected hemp cultivation permit holder farmers partaking in the offtake contract. One of the farmer was from Bizana in the Mpondoland Cannabis Belt. 

The feminised female autoflower seeds is the one that is at the risk of cross-contamination by the pollen drift from the cannabis plants grown in Mpondoland. 

Due to the fact that this is an emotive issue, the ECRDA withdrew those seeds. 

The fact for consideration is that the greatest threat to the Cannabis Landrace Strains of Mpondoland are the proliferation of uncontrolled imported high THC cannabis strains that are now well established in Mpondoland. 

ECRDA Commtiment to the Protection and Promotion of Cannabis Landrace Strains of Mpondoland: 

The ECRDA commits to work with the Association members that own cannabis landrace strains to expedite research as well as expediting their registration for commercial purposes.

In this regard, the ECRDA: 

• has signed a MoU with the local Research Councils to commence with this work; 

• collaborate with Science Council and University on product improvement of cannabis-based complementary medicines developed by local indigenous knowledge holders; 

• add value to the biomass straw waste for other possible value-add manufactured products, for example, construction and building panels. 

Regards, 

Sunshine Blouw, Cannabis Specialist, ECRDA