Medicinal cannabis cultivation and rural lielihoods in Bela-Bela, Berea, Lesotho

Abstract

Traditional marijuana cultivators have been largely affected by cannabis legalization. The main issue is centered on the fact that legalisation of medicinal marijuana in Lesotho came with raised expectations that it would create opportunities for small illegal growers to enter the legal market and benefit from it. However, In Lesotho illegal marijuana growers have continued to be marginalised and the widespread growth linkages that were anticipated have not accrued. This dissertation presents the study findings on the impacts of medical cannabis cultivation on rural livelihoods in Bela-Bela. The research employs a qualitative approach, incorporating data collected through surveys, interviews and field observations. The study concludes that due to a lack of other options for employment, traditional marijuana producers in Bela-Bela mostly rely on the production of cannabis. These local growers have not reaped significant benefits from the medical cannabis operation, despite it creating some jobs. Rather, it has brought about economic challenges such as land loss and insufficient payment, which has made their food and economic security worse. The community's experiences and opinions regarding the Verve Dynamics project were investigated through the use of the qualitative research method in this study. Additionally, the study collected data using primary and secondary sources. The data collection approaches employed in this study included face-to-face interviews, focus groups, and interview schedules with open-ended questions. The researcher was able to choose and sample the 24 study participants in order to represent Bela-Bela community with its distinct clusters by using stratified and purposive sampling approaches.