A call has gone out to stakeholders in the North West Province to be part of the process of unlocking the economic potential of “matekwane” - the Setswana word for cannabis - for the benefit of rural communities.
The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Centre recently facilitated the Matekwane Community Lekgotla at the university’s Molelwane research and training farm outside Mahikeng. This event brought together various stakeholders, including indigenous growers, small business enterprises, traditional healers, the Department of Agriculture and the Rastafari community.
This recent gathering followed in the footsteps of the 2022 Cannabis Lekgotla, during which NWU vice-chancellor Prof Bismark Tyobeka made a commitment that the university would contribute to the National Cannabis Master Plan. The 2022 lekgotla was a first of its kind in the country, and was co-hosted by the NWU and the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).
The Matekwane Community Lekgotla was held in preparation for the next national event, the 2025 Cannabis Lekgotla, taking place in September this year.
Dr Thandeka Kunene, cannabis researcher at the IKS Centre, says the purpose of the recent lekgotla was to report on cannabis research that has been done since the 2022 lekgotla, which gave rise to an Industrial Dagga Development team looking at how to include the IKS community in the cannabis development plan for the North West Province.
According to Dr Motheo Koitsiwe, director of the IKS Centre, the role of the IKS Centre is to conduct teaching, learning, research and community engagement in IKS. He said that this multi-disciplinary project will focus on mainstreaming IKS in the cannabis industry, and that the main plan is to establish the IKS Cannabis Hub at the NWU in partnership with DARD.
Dr Lele Moroole, IKS postgraduate coordinator and researcher added that the ethics clearance and Memorandum of Understanding between the NWU’s IKS Centre and IKS communities is in progress.
During the recent lekgotla the IKS Matekwane Sandbox was also introduced - an experiential, experimental commercial research programme to test ways to include various stakeholders, from research institutes and farmers to traditional leaders and healers and the Rastafari community.
Bothobuile Pule, chief director for agricultural support services at DARD, reaffirmed the government's support for the commercialisation, industrialisation and development of cannabis and hemp in the province.
“We call on all stakeholders to come on board, including other government departments such as Health, Education and the South African Police Service, to make it a collaborative effort to deliver tangible outcomes that will make this province a force to be reckoned with,” he said.
Dr Thandeka Kunene from the NWU IKS Centre explains the purpose of the lekgotla.
Bothobuile Pule, chief director for agricultural support services at the North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
