GETTING a European Union Good Agricultural Collection Practices (EU GACP) certification is a big deal to both Halo Collective and the Cannabis industry in Lesotho.

Halo Collective is a cannabis outfit that owns Bophelo Bioscience and Wellness in Lesotho.

The certification among other clears the way for commercial export of medical cannabis, creating amble employment opportunities for Basotho.

It allows the cannabis company to enter international cannabis supply chain, such as the lucrative European, American and Canadian markets.

According to Halo Collective CEO and Co-Founder, Kiran Sidhu, the EU GACP certification is a hard-won accomplishment that enables Bophelo to participate in the large, rapidly growing market in the EU for medical cannabis.

“With this approval, Bophelo can begin commercialising its California and Oregon West Coast style cannabis for the EU immediately,” Sidhu also says, adding that they are actively working to secure distributors for their premium flower lines.

Owing to its geographical location and weather, Lesotho is regarded as one of the best places in the world to grow all types of cannabis. As a result the country has become a front runner in the legal African cannabis industry.

So opening more international markets for locally operating cannabis cultivating, processing, extracting and formulating companies goes a long way towards the development of the country’s economy.

The Lesotho economy does need a serious shot in the arm after suffering a hefty knock due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in scores of businesses closing down and thousands of workers, especially in the private sector losing their jobs.

With the unemployment rate in Lesotho at a staggering 28 percent this year, according to the Lesotho Poverty Assessment Report, there is little or no hope of the economy fully recovering anytime soon, unless a serious intervention by way of job creation is made.