AfriCanna Innovation, which claims to be South Africa’s first cannabis incubator, has had to reschedule a workshop, which was meant to host presentations on the available opportunities for technological entrepreneurs and farmers in the field of cannabis, after unprecedented public demand.
Dr Thandeka Kunene, who is the non-executive vice-chairman of AfriCanna Innovation, said the organisation was only expecting 100 attendees, but was forced to cancel the event after it received over 800 requests for attendance.
She now expects that similar workshops will be held in each province across the country.
The international dagga industry is booming, with opportunities for entrepreneurs in areas from farming, to pharmaceuticals, to textiles, to construction.
“There are a million rastas (in South Africa) who are willing to supply themselves,” she said to Ventureburn.
The area of track-and-trace technologies includes the application of things like sensors and mapping tech to help farmers who gain permits to stick within the strict permit requirements for the cultivation of dagga.
Track-and-trace technologies, Kunene said, will allow those policing permit holders to ensure that plants high in Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are not placed next to those low in THC.
Kunene said that on a recent visit to Panama she was shown track-and-trace technology that made a DNA imprint on dagga seeds, and another kind that was able to make prints on leaves. Such technology enables regulators to trace dagga right up to the time of its sale.
Source: Ventureburn
Picture: Pixabay