In this video we speak to Leslie Zetler from Felbridge a global ‘go to’ partner for cultivation of genetic input material about their lessons learnt as a 4th generation farming family entering the cannabis cultivation market.

Felbridge has successfully supplied cannabis input materials (clones and tissue culture) to Spain, Switzerland, North Macedonia, Lesotho, Israel and Canada.

We outline the different type of cannabis products that Felbridge can offer African and global markets, we also take time to focus on African hemp enablement, specifically on the issues of appropriate %THC required to be successful in the South African climate. The consensus is that a 1% THC limit on ‘hemp’ low THC cannabis in the country would be the most appropriate over a 0.2% THC definition. We also highlight the importance of making amendments to The Plant Improvement Act and why we need to get cannabis registered as a commercial crop in South Africa, this does require some changes to be implemented in the related Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992.

Of particular interest in this interview was gaining insight into the lessons Felbridge has learnt from their close collaboration with Puregene in Switzerland, where the Swiss cannabis market has seen massive growth over the last few years.

We discuss phytosanitary certificates related to cannabis genetic material and we also consider developments for cannabis breeding rights.

With tissue culture forming a dominant role year on year we discuss the collaboration between Felbridge and Perfect Plants and how Felbridge has built capacity to generate 100,000 clones per run.

We close of the discussion on how to make the South African cannabis and hemp industry more inclusive before cutting to a short video highlighting parts of Felbridge’s facility.

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