Background
Cannabis is one of humanity’s oldest crops with several uses, from food to clothing and medicine. It remains one of the most controversial crops whose production, possession, and usage are regulated differently across jurisdictions. Academic research and advocacy have resulted in the redefinition of the legal status of cannabis in several countries. Ghana recently reviewed its laws on cannabis, allowing for the cultivation of industrial hemp. The legislation paves the way for Ghana to benefit from industrial hemp and include it in the agricultural cash crop list. This paper looks at the economic prospects of industrial hemp in the wake of the new law.
Methods
A systematic electronic research was conducted to identify journal articles, reports, news, blogs, and other relevant materials on cannabis, marijuana, and industrial hemp. The electronic search was done primarily on Google, Google Scholar, Bing, and “Baidu Xueshi” to identify cannabis-related publications. The search was expanded beyond Ghana to find other perspectives on cannabis. The search began in January 2020 on Google using search terms like “cannabis in Ghana” and “which countries have legal cannabis.” Materials on history, financial prospects, industrial uses, and legislations on cannabis and industrial hemp were reviewed.
Results
Existing research on cannabis in Ghana has focused on the psychotic effects of cannabis other than its industrial aspects, which has potentials for the economy. Industrial hemp has CBD with no psychotic effects and is very useful in making medicine, paper, and textiles. Ghana has both the land and workforce to produce hemp to feed local industries and the international market.
Conclusion
The new legislation can put Ghana in a position to benefit from the current cannabis industry. Therefore, policymakers should implement a registration regime that would favor local investors and farmers to reduce illegal production. The regulatory framework should establish a well-equipped agency that will supervise production and research into hemp development.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are one of the buoyant businesses in the global economy with abundant resources that have not been fully exploited. Despite several revelations on the challenges of SMEs, little to none have comprehensively captured financial factors affecting the performance of SMEs, particularly, in the Kenyan leather sector. This study explores financial factors that are affecting the performance of SMEs using the case of the leather industry sector in Kenya. The study data was collected by administering questionnaires to 300 respondents who were randomly chosen from SMEs within Kenyan leather sector. The study found that financial literacy, credit access and tax are statistically significant financial factors affecting the performances of SMEs. As a result, the study recommends that Government should increase its commitment to develop SMEs by offering favorable tax rates and tax exemptions to SMEs especially those in the leather sector of Kenya. Also, SMEs should heighten their financial literacy which will help augment their access to credit.
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