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

Research record1 January 2019Journal article

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

Chris S. Duvall

EchoGéo · 2019

Abstract

This article outlines four historical phases of cannabis cultivation in Africa. First, during the plant’s initial dispersal across the continent, people developed diverse cultures of cannabis farming and use. Second, several formal markets for cannabis developed under colonial regimes, although colonialists more widely suppressed the crop. Third, twentieth-century drug laws changed the economics of production, causing cannabis farming to become particularly attractive to resource-poor farmers. Finally, several countries have recently legalized cannabis cultivation in specific contexts. Altogether, the crop’s agricultural history has produced relationships that enable Global Northerners to extract more value from African resources than African farmers can extract.

The paper's abstract, reproduced as published.

SourceDOIPDF

Record created 2 July 2026 · maintained by landrace.wiki editors · page history

Published1 Jan 2019

TypeJournal article

VenueEchoGéo

Year2019

DOI10.4000/echogeo.17599

SourceDOIPDF

2019-01-01 2026-07-02 A brief agricultural history of cannabis in Africa, from prehistory to canna-colony Journal article History 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. This article outlines four historical phases of cannabis cultivation in Africa. First, during the plant’s initial dispersal across the continent, people developed diverse cultures of cannabis farming and use. Second, several formal markets for cannabis developed under colonial regimes, although colonialists more widely suppressed the crop. Third, twentieth-century drug laws changed the economics of production, causing cannabis farming to become particularly attractive to resource-poor farmers. Finally, several countries have recently legalized cannabis cultivation in specific contexts. Altogether, the crop’s agricultural history has produced relationships that enable Global Northerners to extract more value from African resources than African farmers can extract.