Zambia is hemp-ready and hemp trials could start in the country as soon as October 2026 after the National Cannabis Co-ordinating Committee (NCCC), alternatively Cannabis Board, has been formally constituted.
Zambia’s NCCC Board head Dr Prosper Siabula Sievu told Cannabiz Africa that board activities would formally start in August 2026 after Zambia’s upcoming general election.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the Cannabis Expo on 31 May 2026 where he represented Zambia and his own consultancy, Prosper Sievu Investments. Dr Sievu was in high demand, greeting a stream of visitors at his stand, dispensing advice to prospective investors and stakeholders on the African cannabis landscape.
“We’re swearing in members and formalising our board in August after which we expect to start issuing out licences. We then expect hemp trials to begin as early as October,” said Dr Sievu.
Currently, Zambia’s military, formally the Zambia Defence Force National Service (ZDFNS), is the sole entity permitted with cannabis cultivation and processing in the country.
However, that is all set to change as Zambian authorities aim for broader majority participation. Smallholder farmers will get a chance to be part of the emerging industry through co-operatives membership, said Dr Sievu. He added the ordinary farmers will receive technical support in the form of seed and skills.
“Hemp is a crop that can bring broader economic participation and incorporate everyone across the socio-economic ranks. The second step will be to divert the farmers into the processing of the final product,” he stated.
Zambia’s traditional chiefs have an outsize role in these plans as the principal custodians of rural agricultural land. “We have subscribed 100 000 hectares from the Royal Highnesses for industrial hemp cultivation,” said Dr Sievu. He explained that each of the country’s 10 provinces is contributing 10 hectares under the scheme.
At The Cannabis Expo 2026, Dr Sievu’s consultancy touted ‘Africa’s next green frontier’, pitching various advisory packages on licensing and applications, regulatory compliance, business strategy and financial advisory to Sovereign programmes for national regulatory government frameworks.
The Expo was also a golden networking opportunity with prospective suppliers of equipment and technical expertise from South Africa, China and other countries. “We are having conversations with stakeholders with 20 to 25 years’ experience so they can bring all that to Zambia,” said Dr Sievu.
The Expo was one event on a whistle-stop tour Dr Sievu is currently embarking on, taking in various countries, including Italy for academic commitments and Ghana and Nigeria, on industry invitation.
Although Nigeria has yet to formulate regulations, Dr Sievu said he met a number of Nigerian private citizens at the Expo keen to be part of Africa’s most populous nation’s cannabis economy, if and when it does finally take off the ground.
#
