South Africa’s cannabis landscape did not change by accident. The private-use rights recognised in 2018, the ongoing fights over inclusion, the incomplete commercial framework, and the continued pressure for fair formalisation all rest on decades of work by a relatively small group of determined individuals and organisations. Understanding who they are, and the histories they […]
Tag Archives: landrace
Today, 2 October 2026, is the closing date for a Request for Quotation issued by the Department of Small Business Development. The RFQ seeks a legal expert or institution to develop a framework of legal options for the recognition, protection and regulated participation of indigenous cannabis growers in South Africa’s formal cannabis and hemp value […]
On 21 September 2026 the Department of Small Business Development issued a Request for Quotation calling on legal experts to help design a framework for the recognition, protection and regulated participation of indigenous cannabis growers in South Africa. The move, reported by Adams & Adams on 29 September, is the most concrete recent signal that […]
https://www.businessday.co.za/news/2026-09-25-government-seeks-to-bring-rural-cannabis-growers-into-formal-economy South Africa’s illicit cannabis market is estimated at roughly R36 billion a year. That figure, repeated in recent government and industry discussions, is not just a statistic. It represents thousands of rural and traditional growers, many of them custodians of landrace genetics and intergenerational knowledge, who remain locked out of any formal, legal pathway […]
This week the conversation moved between celebration and hard practicality. Heritage Day asked the country to honour living knowledge. Rwanda advanced a tightly controlled medical-export model. Enforcement actions continued across borders. And a deep dive into seeds versus clones reminded us that the real foundation of any sustainable cannabis future in Southern Africa still rests […]
Living heritage grows in the soil — seed-grown plants develop the deep roots and genetic diversity that have sustained African outdoor cultivation for generations. In the open fields, hillsides and valleys of Southern Africa, the choice between starting cannabis from seed or from a clone is not merely a technical preference. It is a decision […]
Heritage Day 2026 has just passed. On 24 September South Africans gathered under the official theme “Celebrating Our Living Heritage: Strengthening the Ties That Bind Us.” President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke in Oudtshoorn of heritage that lives in people — in the knowledge of traditional healers, the work of craftspeople, languages, rituals, ceremonies and the everyday […]