Research:2019-01-01/Journal article/a-brief-agricultural-history-of-cannabis-in-africa-from-prehistory-to-canna-colony

1 Jan 2019 Journal article

A brief agricultural history of cannabis in Africa, from prehistory to canna-colony

Chris S. Duvall

EchoGéo· 2019

Outlines four historical phases of cannabis cultivation in Africa: the plant's initial dispersal across the continent and the diverse farming and use cultures that developed; the formal markets that arose under colonial regimes even as colonial administrations more widely suppressed the crop; the twentieth-century drug laws that reshaped the economics of production and made cannabis attractive to resource-poor farmers; and the recent legalisation of cultivation in specific national contexts. Duvall argues that this agricultural history has produced relationships that let actors in the Global North extract more value from African cannabis than African farmers can. Foundational reference for African cannabis agricultural history and the extractive dynamics of recent legalisation.

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2019-01-01 2026-07-01 A brief agricultural history of cannabis in Africa, from prehistory to canna-colony Journal article Chris S. Duvall EchoGéo 2019 10.4000/echogeo.17599 https://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/17599 https://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/pdf/17599 Outlines four historical phases of cannabis cultivation in Africa: the plant's initial dispersal across the continent and the diverse farming and use cultures that developed; the formal markets that arose under colonial regimes even as colonial administrations more widely suppressed the crop; the twentieth-century drug laws that reshaped the economics of production and made cannabis attractive to resource-poor farmers; and the recent legalisation of cultivation in specific national contexts. Duvall argues that this agricultural history has produced relationships that let actors in the Global North extract more value from African cannabis than African farmers can. Foundational reference for African cannabis agricultural history and the extractive dynamics of recent legalisation.