The Venters are grain producers in the north-western Free State on the road between Viljoenskroon and Kroonstad. As Coenie Venter puts it, it is a high-risk maize, soya beans and sunflower production area.
“Grain production is becoming increasingly risky because of the growing climatic risk. We regularly have to deal with extreme droughts. The droughts that occurred between 2006 and 2016 particularly forced us to pursue alternative sources of income to supplement dryland grain production. We considered a host of alternatives, such as pecan nuts and blueberries. However, as medical marijuana had gone mainstream globally, we decided to embark on the production thereof. Our research showed there is growing longterm demand and potential for cannabis.
“The biggest mistake we made was underestimating the demands and complexities of medical cannabis production and believing it
