On Thursday, 26 local farmers will receive hemp seeds from the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency and sign an agreement at the Coega Special Economic Zone in Gqeberha.

These farmers will be integrated into the supply chain of a planned hemp flower cultivation project, which aims to cover ten thousand hectares of land in the province over the next five years.

Nonceba Kontsiwe, Member of the Executive Council for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, announced that they have already secured a $5 300 investment for an indoor cannabis cultivation facility at Coega.

Kontsiwe highlighted the importance of including local farmers in this initiative, stating, "Our partners have invested in the construction of the state-of-the-art facility, and as government, our role is to ensure that local farmers who already grow this crop in abundance in their backyards are not left behind. We are excited to distribute hemp seeds to these farmers to enable them to be a greater part of the value chain."

--SABC/ChannelAfrica--