[imagesource: Polkadraai / Facebook]

If you’re a fan of some of the finest strawberries the Cape has to offer, you may have heard of Polkadraai farm.

The owners of the well-known strawberry farm are now further diversifying their portfolio, having become the first Western Cape recipients of a licence to start growing medical dagga.

Four other companies have received cultivation licences in other parts of the country.

The holding company, Felbridge, was granted a licence by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority after a lengthy application process, which began back in October 2017.

Reporting below via Fin24:

Felbridge is converting a sweet pepper plantation, including a large greenhouse, into a dagga plant, and is currently securing seeds from Spain. This is subject to approval from the department of agriculture, it hasn’t started growing the cannabis yet.

It received a licence to grow 14 000 square metres, but will take a phased approach, says [Leslie] Zetler. First, 150 square metres will be cultivated to test the produce. When it is satisfied with the produce, 5 000 square metres, mostly located in a greenhouse, will be developed.

Zetler expects a yield of four to five crops a year. He said that the company invested “quite a bit” into securing the dagga plantation.

The Zetler family are the majority owners of Felbridge, and you may recognise the name from the tragic story of Jeffrey Zetler, who was murdered last year during a farm robbery.

According to Cape Town Etc, the farm is likely to produce sizeable quantities of dagga:

The farm will be allowed to produce 20 tonnes of dried cannabis per year. The licence covers their existing 46 272m² greenhouse facility in the Western Cape. Farm owners Barry, Leslie and Julian Zetler plan to extend further with an estimated 121 920m² greenhouse area for greater cultivation. The trio of brothers have long been working in greenhouse cultivation, and believe this gives them a head-start over the competition.

The dagga grown will be used in a variety of ways, such as in anti-anxiety medication and in food supplements.

This certainly seems like a step in the right direction, so let’s hope the cultivating process delivers the goods.

[sources:fin24&capetownetc]