Rwanda to cultivate 134 hectares of cannabis for export

After announcing plans to permit the cultivation of medical cannabis in Rwanda in 2020, the government is officially breaking ground on the land where it will be grown.

134 hectares of land have been dedicated to growing the crop, with many companies vying for the opportunity to score the contract. The Rwanda Development Board says a significant number of companies have shown interest in partnering up with the government.

“RDB has been working with other government stakeholders to assess proposals received. The government of Rwanda set a rigorous process to select companies that have or are partnering with companies that have previous experience in the production of cannabis for medical and therapeutic reasons. The assessment process has different stages. So far 5 companies are in the advanced stage,” read a statement from RDB.

The last time the CEO of RDB, Claire Akamanzi, spoke to media she said no licenses had been issues, and that the process for licensing is lengthy. Specific requirements pertaining to security, infrastructure and more are relevant to whether or not a business will get the license.

“If you get licensed to grow these therapeutic crops in Rwanda, you will be required to have in place a very strong security program that has to be approved by our security organs, and that security program is going to be highly implemented,” she said.

“There will be no way that it (cannabis) can leak out of the farm to go to the domestic market or to the wrong users. The crops will be in a very designated place, there will be very strong measures, whether it is CCTV cameras, watchtowers, street lights, and human security. So it is going to be extremely secure,” she added.

However cannabis produced in Rwanda will not be for the people that live in the country. The plant will be grown exclusively for export, with the Unites States, Canada and Europe being the main targets for sale.