The Zimbabwe Industrial Hemp Trust (ZIHT) has launched a first-of-a-kind industrial hemp commercial trial at a farm in Mvurwi, about 100km north of the capital Harare, in a development described as pivotal to unlocking a potential US$5 billion value chain.
The 10-hectare industrial hemp project was unveiled on Saturday, 11 April 2026, and is a joint partnership between ZIHT and a local farmer, according to Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation TV.
Stakeholders will move to lock in research and development, production and processing, among others, in a development seen as signalling growing interest in the emerging industry and demonstrating hemp’s full potential. It is also central to ZIHT’s advocacy work.
ZIHT CEO Dr Zorodzai Maroveke said the initiative is designed to demonstrate the viability of hemp production. Dr Maroveke, aka Dr Zoey, has probably done more than any other single individual in Zimbabwe to enact the legalization of industrial cannabis. She provided the first concept note Government in 2016, and was the driving force behind the formation of the ZIHT in 2017. She has since been a powerful voice aligning government and private stakeholders in the hemp sector and has overseen a series of cultivation trials to determine the varietals best suited to Zimbabwe.
“Today we are showcasing our first project, it’s a commercial trial that we did out here in Mvurwi at Disi Farm. It is the first of this size and what we really want stakeholders to appreciate is the realities of growing industrial hemp and also the potential and where we are as a country. So you’ll find that this was a 10-hectare project. There were many things that we’re experimenting with, nutrition, pest control, yields and so forth,” said Dr Maroveke.
“Every industry has its own life cycle, and industrial hemp is a nascent industry; we are at the beginning, so we need a lot of hands on deck and all stakeholders to participate, banks, financiers, investors, farmers, captains of industry, and engineers on board,” she added. Collaboration, coordination and investment will be critical to unlocking the full potential of Zimbabwe’s industrial hemp value chain, according to stakeholders.
Agriculture Marketing Authority (AMA), a major agro-industry state stakeholder, is also part of the initiative and is engaging the private sector to structure financing models for the hemp industry.
AMA CEO Alice Mapiza said the goal is to expand production across different farming categories. “We want hemp to grow to a successful crop that is not grown by a select few. We want to grow to expand it to be a diversified crop from small scale farmers to large scale farmers, so AMA make sure there is coordination from production to processing.
“What we want to promote is a clearly outlined plan for industry so that we have job creation, we think the product that will come out for hemp can create jobs for Zimbabwe,” she said.
Mapiza’s comments on broadening participation will be welcomed. Critics have long pointed out that high licensing fees and investment intensive conditions of entry sideline the majority from taking part.
Small scale farmers had been looking to hemp to fill in the gap left by tobacco which has become an unviable cash crop.
The versatility of industrial hemp is also viewed as central to reviving Zimbabwe’s economy given the many by-products and opportunities in fibre, seed, oil, paper packaging, textiles and construction, to mention only a few.
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