South Africa could learn a lesson from Malawi on how to develop a coherent cannabis regime. For starters, it’s centralized all regulatory decision making in a single entity, the Cannabis Regulatory Authority (CRA) which is in charge of both medical and industrial cannabis.

Recreational consumption in Malawi remains strictly outlawed, although cultivators are working on an export strategy for the country’s famed landrace, Malawi Gold.

In an exclusive interview on 12 February 2024 with John Makoni of Cannabiz Africa, the CRA’s Director-General Dr Salipira Ketulo (pictured above) said the decriminalisation of medicinal and industrial cannabis, had unlocked “significant commercial opportunities”.

“We believe that by leveraging the Cannabis Regulation Act (No. 6 of 2020), along with Malawi's favourable climate and agricultural expertise, we can position the country as a regional leader in the legal cannabis industry, and drive the country’s economic development.”

“This regulation has clarified key aspects such as licensing, registration, and provided comprehensive guidelines for the cultivation, processing, transportation, and export of cannabis biomass and products from Malawi to the international market,” he said.

The international markets Malawi is focusing on are Germany, Portugal and Macedonia.

He says that five years after the Act was passed into law, Malawi’s cannabis programme is starting to gear up thanks to co-ordinated government action with the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) and the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA).

“We are certain that in the coming five years, Malawi will penetrate into more international markets within Africa, Europe and North America. We also need to invest in value-addition initiatives, such as processing facilities to allow the export of finished products which fetches more than the cannabis biomass,” observes Dr Ketulo.

The MTIC has been set up as a one-stop shop for foreign investors, and cannabis is part of its portfolio. Dr Ketulo says all cannabis investment queries should be channelled through the MTIC which offers incentives including tax holidays, import duty waivers on agro-based equipment, and reduced corporate tax rates.

Dr Ketulo said “Investors are required to meet the necessary conditions set by the government, including contributing to value addition, creating employment, and generating forex.”

Invegrow was the first licensed operator in Malawi and embarked on a scheme to develop the small-scale cultivation sector. Now other licensed cultivators, exporters, and manufacturers in Malawi include Genscore Africa Ltd, Mbabzi Estate, Canna Matrix, Nexgen Limited, CPG Investments, Malawi Gold Ltd, Kamphulu Farmers Partnership, among others.

Nexgen facilitated the first export of Malawi Gold biomass to Macedonia in 2023; 15 tons of biomass was sent to Instadose, which then processed the shipment into products for distribution throughout Europe.

Earning forex was one of the reasons Malawi and many other African countries embraced cannabis in the first place. Malawi is heavily dependent on tobacco exports, and with a declining global market of smokers, it is looking for alternative income streams to tackle its significant debt burden.. At the end of June 2024, Malawi’s external debt was reported to be R79-billion (US$4.13-billion), constituting 81% of its GDP.

Dr Ketulo acknowledged that stringent regulatory and quality requirements have posed challenges on the export front. However, leading growers and exporters had adopted a number of interventions to navigate these challenges. These include investment in Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), strengthening third-party testing and certification to meet international market requirements and engaging in fact-finding missions with potential markets to demonstrate product quality and supply chain integrity.

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