The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) is to use the R146 million funding for cannabis research primarily on medical and industrial cannabis. 

That’s according to Acting Minister in the Presidency, Maropene Ramakgopa , who told journalists on 5 September 2024, that Cabinet had been updated on the latest developments in the cannabis industry and was committed to support it going forward.

Ramakgopa said that one of the commitments was the multi-million research funding grant that would be available to ARC to focus on “cannabis breeding for medicinal, fibre and other uses; cannabis plant disease surveillance, indigenous germplasm collection and cannabis seed system development.”

She said ARC had already “developed two hemp varieties and with the support of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), is currently undergoing a second season of seed multiplication to make it available for the 2025 planting season”.

She reported that DALRRD had issued 1110 hemp permits and that central government would engage with provinces in co-ordinating the roll-out of industrial cannabis development.

Cabinet heard that the Department of Trade and Industry would soon begin consulting stakeholders on a cannabis commercialisation policy and that the Justice Department would start enacting the amendments outlined in the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, which was passed into law in May 2024.

Cabinet was briefed on 4 September 2024 on the National Cannabis Master Plan, which is rooted in ‘Nine Pillars’, where government alignment is required. 

The Nine Pillars are:

1. Effective regulatory systems:

Led by the national Department of Health, with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development);

2. Sustainable seed supply systems

Led by the Department of Agriculture, with the Department of Small Business Development

3. Research and technology development

Led by the Department of Science and Innovation, with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition;

4. Producer support systems

Led by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, with the Department of Small Business Development;

5. Market development

Led by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, with the Department of Small Business Development;

6. Supplier development systems

Led by the Department of Small Business Development, with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition;

7. Manufacturing and product development

Led by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, with the Department of Science and Innovation and the Department of Small Business Development)

8. Education and training

Led by the Department of Higher Education and Training, with the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Employment and Labour; and

9. Communication and awareness

Led by the Government Communication and Information System, with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies.