The Hemp Association of Ghana (HAG) has held the first-ever capacity building workshop for scores of farmers willing to go into Industrial Hemp farming in Ghana.
The workshop organised at East Legon on March 9, 2020, exposed the farmers to how they can leverage their expertise on the international connections of HAG to benefit from the multi-billion-dollar global industry for hemp-which is the none psychoactive strain of the Cannabis plant.
For instance, HAG has access to internationally tested and standardised consignment of hemp seeds sitting in Europe. The seeds meet the international standard of 0.3 % THC value which means that it cannot be used as a narcotic or psychotropic drug but as a purely industrial commodity.
According to the President of HAG, Nana Kwaku Agyemang, Ghana is currently at the cusp of boosting its industrial capacity with hemp, following the recent relaxation of stringent regulations against cannabis in Malawi.
“This is the green gold and we cannot allow multi-national companies to edge us out of this industry. We want the average Ghanaian farmer to benefit from this multi-billion industry,” says Nana Kwaku Agyemang.
In other parts of Africa, after legal regimes on cannabis was relaxed, cultivation licenses were pegged above US$250,000, a situation that has cut off local farmers and has allowed big global players to monopolise the local market.
“We shall not allow Ghana to go down that road. Ghana must be a beacon of hope for Africa on how we can use industrial hemp to drastically transform the lives of farmers and the economy in general,” the HAG president told Whatsup News.
The farmers who have shown interest have been officially registered by HAG and have been assisted on the completion of tax identification number application forms, Company limited by shares, banking application forms and all other relevant forms.
They were given advice about how to operate their business accounts and briefed about the various services the bank provides. (Back not named for obvious reasons)
Meanwhile the potential hemp farmers have been briefed about the Narcotics Commission Bill 2019 currently being scrutinised by the Ghanaian Parliament. The bill has completed the consideration stage and is now up for mention by the minister of Defence and Interior Ambrose Dery before becoming an Act of Parliament awaiting the President’s signature.