Story by Tapiwa Machemedze
ZIMBABWE’s industrial hemp sector is gaining momentum following the launch of a commercial trial in Mvurwi, as stakeholders move to unlock a potential US$5 billion value chain.
The Zimbabwe Industrial Hemp Trust has intensified efforts to promote production and processing, with a 10-hectare industrial hemp crop successfully established at Disi Farm, signalling growing interest in the emerging industry.
The trial, a partnership between the Trust and a local farmer, marks a significant step towards research, development and advocacy aimed at unlocking the crop’s full economic potential.
Chief Executive Officer of the Zimbabwe Industrial Hemp Trust, Dr Zorodzai Maroveke, said the initiative is designed to demonstrate the viability of hemp production.
“We are showcasing our first project, it is a commercial trial that we did out here at Diso farm Mvurwi. It is the first of its kind, what we want stakeholders to appreciate realities of growing industrial hemp and also the potential here is that there were many things that we were experimenting with, pest control yields and so on.
“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 said.
The Agriculture Marketing Authority (AMA) has also thrown its weight behind the initiative, engaging the private sector to structure financing models for the hemp value chain.
AMA Chief Executive Officer, 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.
Industrial hemp is a versatile crop with an estimated 50 000 potential products derived from its fibre, seed and oil. For Zimbabwe, paper packaging, woven textiles and construction bricks have been identified as some of the immediate opportunities.
Stakeholders say collaboration, coordination and investment will be critical in unlocking the full potential of Zimbabwe’s industrial hemp value chain.
