Cannabis, steaming all over Africa
In his 2020 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa noted that “this year we will open up and regulate the commercial use of hemp products, providing opportunities for small-scale farmers; and formulate policy on the use of cannabis products for...
Fundamental Pillars of Cannabis Market
With the cannabis discussion steaming up in South Africa, I have been monitoring developments in other countries that have liberalised this plant. South Africa still has a tough road to walk in formulating the proper regulatory system for the entire cannabis value...
Lessons from Africa: High time for South Africa to refine its cannabis licensing mechanism
Essay by Professor Mzukisi Qobo[1] and Wandile Sihlobo[2] A spectre of cannabis is hovering above Africa. The boom is on the horizon and for some countries, it will be a slow burn. A number of countries in Africa have in the recent past reformed their cannabis...
South Africa cannot afford to ignore economic benefits of cannabis legalization
Essay by Professor Mzukisi Qobo[1] and Wandile Sihlobo[2] Marijuana, cannabis, dagga, weed, pot, Durban poison, ganja, mbanje, insangu, umya — call it what you may, cannabis is set to become a booming industry in the foreseeable future. Cannabis has now been...
Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity and Agriculture“.
He is a Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand.
Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 (and re-appointed in 2022), having served on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture from 2018.
He is also a member of the Council of Statistics of South Africa (Stats SA) and a Commissioner at the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC).
Sihlobo is a columnist for Business Day, The Herald and Farmers Weekly magazine.
His weekly podcast, “Agricultural Market Viewpoint with Wandile Sihlobo“, is available on all podcast platforms.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Fort Hare and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Stellenbosch University.