"Hemp in Africa: Highlights from KEHE Con 2025" Welcome back to the Let's Talk Hemp podcast! I'm your host, Morris Beagle, and today we have an exciting episode as we dive into the first-ever Kenya Hemp Conference, KEHE Con 2025, held in Nairobi, Kenya. This landmark event brought together policymakers, farmers, industry leaders, and international stakeholders to discuss the future of industrial hemp in East Africa.
"Hemp in Africa: Highlights from KEHE Con 2025"
Welcome back to the Let's Talk Hemp podcast! I'm your host, Morris Beagle, and today we have an exciting episode as we dive into the first-ever Kenya Hemp Conference, KEHE Con 2025, held in Nairobi, Kenya. This landmark event brought together policymakers, farmers, industry leaders, and international stakeholders to discuss the future of industrial hemp in East Africa.
We start the episode by wishing everyone a happy new year and sharing our plans for more consistent podcast episodes in 2025. We also give a shoutout to our sponsor, Her Many Voices, for their continued support.
The Kenya Hemp Conference, held at the prestigious Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel, was a historic event with over 100 attendees and a lineup of expert speakers. The conference covered a wide range of topics, including hemp agronomy, processing, applications in plastics, animal feed, and carbon sequestration. The goal was to lay the groundwork for developing a hemp industry in Kenya and beyond.
In this episode, we feature interviews with nine key voices from the conference:
Paul Kirika from the National Museums of Kenya, who shares his excitement about the endless opportunities in hemp cultivation and its potential to transform local and export economies.
Lusike Ajayi, Director of Crop Systems in Kenya, who discusses the importance of underutilized fruits and the potential of industrial hemp to replace plastics and support sustainable agriculture.
Dr Rizike Mwadalu from the Kenya Forest Research Institute, who highlights the potential of industrial hemp for carbon sequestration and soil management.
Dennis Itumbi from the President's office, who emphasizes the need for policy changes and the importance of moving from policy discussions to practical implementation on farms.
Cedric Nwafor from Roots Africa, who talks about connecting U.S. academic institutions with African farming communities and the potential of industrial hemp to transform local economies.
Rusty Peterson from IND Hemp, who discusses the importance of sustainability and the potential of industrial hemp to meet UN SDG goals.
Olufemi Ajayi from Alabama State University, who shares insights on integrated pest management and the importance of legalizing industrial hemp in Kenya.
Kingwa Kamencu from Blackstar Media, who talks about the business and spiritual aspects of hemp and the potential of hempwood and hemp food products.
Sankara Sankie member of event organizing team and eight plus year advocate and industrial hemp educator.
Throughout the episode, we explore the various applications of industrial hemp, from food and animal feed to biodegradable plastics and carbon credits. The enthusiasm and optimism of the speakers highlight the potential of industrial hemp to drive economic development, sustainability, and innovation in Kenya and beyond.
A big thank you to our sponsor, Her Many Voices, a platform where grassroots activism meets indigenous wisdom to benefit all of Earth's inhabitants. Visit them at hermanyvoices.org
TIMESTAMP
00:00:00 - Introduction and New Year Wishes
00:00:45 - Overview of Kenya Hemp Conference
00:02:32 - Interview with Paul Kirika: National Museums of Kenya
00:05:27 - Hemp's Role in Food and Animal Feed
00:07:04 - Legalization and Policy Challenges in Kenya
00:10:23 - Final Thoughts from Paul Kirika
00:11:22 - Interview with Lusike Wasilwa: Crop Systems Director
00:13:01 - Lusike's Experience with Industrial Crops
00:15:06 - Hemp's Potential in Replacing Plastics
00:17:03 - Hemp's Economic and Environmental Benefits
00:20:42 - Future of Hemp in Kenya: Lusike's Perspective
00:22:43 - Interview with Dr. Riziki Mudalu: Kenya Forest Research Institute
00:25:10 - Dr. Riziki on Carbon Sequestration and Soil Management
00:27:00 - Optimism for Hemp Legalization in Kenya
00:29:29 - Final Thoughts from Dr. Riziki
00:29:44 - Interview with Dennis from the President's Office
00:30:27 - Dennis on Conference Insights and Policy Issues
00:32:04 - U.S. Support for Kenya's Hemp Industry
00:33:23 - Final Thoughts from Dennis
00:33:44 - Interview with Cedric Nwafo: Roots Africa
00:33:59 - Cedric's Background and Roots Africa's Mission
00:34:49 - Farmers' Interest in Industrial Hemp
00:35:22 - Conference Insights and Applications for Smallholder Farmers
00:37:14 - Final Thoughts from Cedric
00:38:11 - Interview with Rusty Peterson: IND Hemp
00:38:45 - Rusty's Impressions of Kenya and the Conference
00:39:14 - Opportunities for IND Hemp in Kenya
00:41:01 - Rusty on Carbon Credits and Sustainability
00:42:47 - Final Thoughts from Rusty
00:44:41 - Interview with Femi from Alabama State University
00:45:07 - Femi on Integrated Pest Management and Cultivation
00:47:07 - Femi's Experience at NoCo Hemp Expo
00:47:48 - Insights on Hemp Plastics
00:49:06 - Final Thoughts from Femi
00:50:14 - Interview with Kinwa Kamenshu: Blackstar Media
00:51:01 - Kinwa's Background and Interest in Hemp
00:52:48 - Insights on Hempwood and Food Applications
You are listening to the Let's Talk Hemp podcast. Welcome to the show. Welcome back to Let's Talk Hemp Volume Up, the podcast where we dive into the latest developments, innovations, and opportunities in the global hemp industry. I'm your host, Morris Beagle, and today we're taking you to Nairobi, Kenya, where history was made at the first ever Kenya Hemp Conference, Kihei Con 2025. Before we get into that though, I'd like to take a moment and wish everyone a happy new year. This is the first podcast I've done in 2025 and I'm looking forward to keeping this going a little more consistently this year. I will have another Africa podcast coming up in a few weeks from Cape Town, which will feature some great guests as well. I want to mention that this podcast and the Let's Talk Hemp Volume Up podcast series is sponsored by our good friends at Her Many Voices, hermanyvoices.com, where the combination of grassroots activism with indigenous wisdom comes together to help all of Earth's inhabitants. Now we'll move on to the Kenya Hemp Conference held at the prestigious Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel. This landmark event brought together policymakers, farmers, industry leaders, and international stakeholders to chart the future of industrial hemp in East Africa. With over 100 attendees and a lineup of expert speakers, the conference provided invaluable insights into hemp's role in economic development, sustainability, and industrial innovation. From discussions on hemp agronomy and processing to its applications in plastics, animal feed, and carbon sequestration, KeyHakon 2025 laid the groundwork for developing a hemp industry in Kenya and beyond. In today's episode, we'll be hearing directly from nine key voices who were at the forefront of this groundbreaking event. They'll share their insights, experiences, and visions for the future of hemp in Africa. So sit back, stay tuned, and let's dive into the conversations that are shaping the future of industrial hemp. This is the Kenya Tapes. And we're back here at the Kenya Hemp Conference. Kihekan is what we're calling it today. And I am sitting here with Paul Kirika. Is that correct? Yes, that's correct. Well, welcome. How are you doing today?
undefined: Thank you. I'm doing well. It's my pleasure to be in this conference. My name is Paul Kirika from the National Museums of Kenya. I'm a research scientist at the Botany Department. I study plants, the diversity of plants in Kenya. And I've interacted with some of the plants in the hemp family. Mainly the cannabis. I've interacted with that. We have specimens in the herbarium. of collections made from different regions in the country. So I'm excited to be in this conference because it has opened me up to the endless opportunities that are there in the hemp, in the cultivation of hemp, which is largely misunderstood And I think there is a lot that needs to be done to educate people on the importance of hemp and the opportunities that are there in its cultivation. I've realized that there is so much products that come from hemp. And this can transform our economy, both local economies and also we can be exporting these to earn income. So it has opened me up to the opportunities that are there in the hemp cultivation. So I'm excited and it's also an opportunity to interact with people who have been in this industry and see their products. Even the production of bricks. I didn't know that you can produce bricks from hemp. So it's quite exciting for me.
undefined: So after listening to a lot of these speakers and seeing some of the products that are here, is there any one particular aspect of hemp that is the most exciting to you?
undefined: The most exciting is the food. It's also used in the food industry. I only thought maybe it's only for the production of fiber. There are quite a large number of products that are produced for users in the food industry. and also in the feed, animal feed industry. That is the most exciting thing for me.
undefined: The hemp food opportunity is one of the best opportunities that there is anywhere on the planet because we all have to eat and we want to be eating healthy foods and hemp is a superfood and it's an ingredient that really if it's processed into a high-grade protein or flour can go into just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of different products. So there's certainly a lot of opportunity when it comes to the food aspect of ham.
undefined: Sure, sure. And then it also opens up, you know, areas in research that are quite also exciting. As more products are being developed from this plant, then more opportunities for research will crop up.
undefined: Hemp still needs a lot of research. There's been a lot of research done over the years that I'm excited about. the research that's yet to be done because there's so many countries that have yet to get into the game and so many universities that haven't done any research. Each country needs to kind of look at the opportunities that are there and what's going to fit the profile of their country. I'm excited to see what happens here in Kenya. There's still a long ways to go. Are you optimistic about the legalization of industrial hemp here?
undefined: Yes, it could have some challenges, but I'm sure we will be able to go through the challenges and be able to, you know, perhaps have the legal documents put in place for the cultivation of the hemp. So I'm optimistic that eventually the policy makers will be able to understand and go ahead and legalize the cultivation.
undefined: Well there's a lot of good people that showed up to the conference and I think with a greater understanding of what this plant is and what it can do and there's really no reason for it to be illegal It's just another resource for any country that wants to start growing it as a traditional agriculture crop to help their country and help the economy and help the people of the country.
undefined: Yes, I think what needs to be done is to demystify and also to give the correct information, because there is a lot of misinformation, and it will generate some misinformation. Because sometimes media picks up one thing and puts it in a way that is negative. People have to be given the right information for them to understand that this is a fiber crop and not a drug that is being promoted. So there is some work to be done to give the right information and educating the public.
undefined: That's why we do conferences like this to bring out people that can talk about the policy aspects, the economic aspects, the product and usage aspects. and hopefully de-stigmatize a lot of these ideas that people have about cannabis and what it is and what it isn't. So hopefully this conference is just the beginning of trying to help with the de-stigmatization of hemp.
undefined: Yes, I agree with you.
undefined: Any final thoughts?
undefined: Yes, it's a great opportunity so I'm hopeful that something will come out of this conference that is positive and then the correct information will go to the policy makers so that they are able to make informed decisions.
undefined: That's why we're here, and we're working with different folks throughout the government agencies and so forth. And we've got our USDA representatives here and our delegates to hopefully move this thing a bit forward for Kenya. So thank you for coming out, and I appreciate it.
undefined: Thank you, too.
undefined: All right. Take care. Bye. Bye. Thank you. We're back here live at the Kenya Hemp Conference, otherwise known as Kihei Con. And I am here with Lusike, who just got done presenting on stage. How are you doing today? I'm doing pretty well. Great. So why don't you tell the folks here in the audience what you do, where you're from, the organization you work with?
: Yeah. I'm Lusike Wasilwa. I'm the Director, Crop Systems. So I coordinate all crop research in Kenya. and coordinating research in Kenya. But I'm also a researcher in my own respect. I'm a molecular plant pathologist, so I deal with a lot of diseases of economic importance. But right now, as I get older, I'm into the underutilized fruits because they're the ones that keep feeding our populations in times of drought. Because of this unreliable rain patterns in Kenya, we're surviving on underutilized fruits and then vegetables. But fruits is what I love a lot, so fruits like guavas, loquats, jackfruits. and then even Cape Gooseberry. Those are the ones I'm really promoting because in terms of their nutrition, in terms of their sustainability, in terms of them being drought tolerant, those are the areas that I'm focusing on. The fact that you can make many products. like in America they have blueberry cobblers, here in Kenya we have gooseberry cobbler. You know we're a tourist country and so we have to feed them with something close to what they eat in their countries but it will be Africanized.
undefined: Right.
: Yeah.
undefined: And so have you been familiar with hemp? Oh yeah. And have you studied hemp at all?
: Yeah I have. Okay. I've done quite a bit of hemp. When I first came back from the U.S. in 2000 and In 2004, I was made the industrial crops program officer, as it was against my will. I really wanted to work with horticulture, but they forced me to do this industrial crops. Because I said, there's nothing there, there's no funding. But it just took three years, and the funding for industrial crops had suppressed horticultural crops. Because these are crops that we say they're industrial, meaning that they've moved from the farm to now industry. But they still had a lot of constraints and a lot needed to be done. So one of the industrial crops are the fiber crops, and cotton was one of them. And actually at that time when we were doing stakeholder consultations to list what are important fiber crops, do you know industrial hemp never showed up then? That was 2012. There was no mention of industrial hemp. hemp at all, but we had things like kenneb, jute, all these weird fiber crops, the silk that has been around since the 70s but had not taken up until recently. But industrial help never came. Can you imagine? So, working with the industrial crops and the fact that they have a lot of products, particularly they cross over from crops, and then there's the crop-livestock interaction, where the byproducts from these industrial crops, like the nuts, like macadamia, after you've extracted the oil, then the cake that comes out of that is an animal feed. So you could see the link between the industrial crops and livestock, and to me, I felt that was much better and then the shells from the macadamia you can make charcoal or they're used for mulching in our flower industry so you look at a crop like macadamia nuts and then you see how it's been has multiple uses the industrial crops made me look and say wow this is something this is something we need to look at And so we've really been, and then doing the promotions, we were able to start up with a crop like oil palm that came up because the oil crops are some of the industrial crops. And then even now we have weird oil crops, the safflower, cranberry, and all of those that have come up. So it was good that I was supposed to go into industrial crops because now that's the way of the world right now. So what do you think of the conference thus far? The conference is fantastic. I've learned, it's like an information overload, I've learned a lot. But the thing I liked the best was the substitution of plastics with the hemp plastics that are biodegradable. That touched me. The issues of bioplastics that we are inhaling The 50,000 units, micro units of the bioplastics a day, whether you use the plastics or not, you're inhaling that. They're in our lakes, they're in our rivers, they're in our oceans. In the air. In the air, we're breathing them in. is scary. You know, I watch a lot of documentaries, but today it hit and I said, if we can grow more hemp globally, and globally, there are many countries growing hemp, If we can grow more and then make plastics out of industrial hemp that are degradable, then I'll stop breathing in these bioplastics and who knows what they're doing to us. That's why we're having a lot of autoimmune disorders and all these strange diseases coming up all of a sudden and you wonder what did you do wrong. and you never did anything but you're breathing because the air you have is just saturated with them. Then, because most people think plastics is what you can see and touch, so you get a lot of, like goats, when they're slaughtered, their stomachs are just full of plastic until finally Kenya burnt plastics, but there are still some in the environment. So these animals get to eat them and actually it ends up killing them. So if you're able to slaughter and find one with it in the stomach because they have the four stomachs, well you're lucky you slaughtered it. Most of the time you just find animals dying because of this plastic. So how do we now use organic plastics like hemp? it's an organic plastic if you want to label it like that hemp that you can use these plastics because a lot of our foods because we're promoting processing they'll tend to use some kind of plastic but now hemp you can either put them in the paper the cardboard the ply board and then cover them with this biodegradable plastic so whatever you're packaging your produce for export or for even local domestic use Whatever you package is degraded, so it will never settle in the environment and cause to poison. So that I learned today, and it's something that I said before. I was the president of Kenya, and you know I'm not. Today, everybody will be growing hemp by force. It will be like a dictatorship. You're planting it. You have 10% of your farm under hemp.
undefined: Well, we used to do that in the United States when the British came over, and they required the early colonies to grow industrial hemp, and they used it as a form of paying taxes. So they basically mandated the growth of industrial hemp back in the 1600s and 1700s in the United States.
: Can you imagine? That was then. Now we're in 2025. And we've not begun growing industrial hemp in Kenya. That is so sad. This is way, way long overdue. And I'm hoping that after this conference, that we're educated enough to begin to move the correct way to support cotton, which is also a natural fiber. And then the other fibers that we also used to grow in Kenya, jute and kenup, that are other forms of hemp. that they can also come up. We need these biodegradable fibers. But when you look in terms of volume and how much you get from industrial hemp, it surpasses those. Because when you're looking at Kenyan production system, the industrial hemp, for example, we produce 1.8 tons per acre, compared to cotton that is 0.6 tons. Already this thing is three times, producing three times the amount that we do in terms of cotton. But cotton, what is it for? It's just fibers, and then there's the oil, then there's the seed cake, the animal feed. But the products for hemp, industrial hemp, I can't even list them. I think there's so many. Maybe there is a new one coming up. So it will create jobs. It will protect the environment because cotton is a pesticide, unless you're planting the BT types. But hemp, minimal pesticides, so it's safer on the environment. You're not polluting the environment with all these chemicals and toxins and your water sources. So this is a thing that we should think about, really, because you're still getting your fiber. For Kenya, one of our policies is to reduce importation of fiber products. We want to promote export of fiber, and this crop just fits that bill.
undefined: Absolutely. Yeah. Well, any final thoughts for today's conference and the future of hemp in Kenya?
: The future of hemp, I know. Whoever needed to be in this meeting is sitting in there. In fact, the latest person just walked in when I was about five minutes towards the end of my presentation. So in terms of making the positive steps towards commercialization of hemp, it has begun today. We can say today hemp was born in Kenya. Industrial hemp has been born in Kenya. And it will go no other way but up in terms of commercialization of this crop. And I'm happy to see this happen in my lifetime.
undefined: That's great. Well, I'm excited about your enthusiasm and you need to take that outside of this building and share it with a lot of people over the coming months and years.
: Yeah, we will. We will do that. I'm so grateful. Like I was saying to anybody, our board chair is there also, so he's heard. And I know this was timed well and the people who they needed to have from the government are sitting in this, in the government. So it won't take too long to convince them. And already we had begun to take the baby steps, but now we'll take the leaps and start running like our long-distance runner to get this crop to where it's supposed to be.
undefined: Well, let's convince the president and that'll be a good step to getting it legalized.
: His office is sitting here, so at least that's a good thing. The fact that they've come. That's very positive. Kenya runs on policies. You can't just do anything just because it's good, no. There has to be a policy to guide, strategy put in place to develop, and we're good at doing these things, those policies and strategies, so we'll be able to do that. The hemp one is the only one that is missing now. Every other policy to support hemp is there. It's just now the one for hemp, the crop itself, industrial.
undefined: Awesome. Well, thank you very much for jumping on the podcast and sharing your knowledge on stage.
: Oh, thank you. Thank you. I thank everyone. I've been looking forward to this day for the past two years or three. Yeah. Hoping it will come up and finally it's there. I couldn't believe it in the morning. I was like, this is happening again. Wow. Okay. We did have a, some conference at Kenyatta University, or wasn't as big as this. This is huge. Yeah, this is really big.
undefined: Well, NIHC and all of us that came over from the United States are excited to be here and to help however we can. We want to see hemp flourish in Africa, Europe, Asia, all over the world.
: Why not? Because it contributes to greening of the landscape. That's one of my big things. And that's why I've been really interested in and utilize crops, fruits, for example, because they are very tolerant to the environment. So with hemp being drought tolerant, we'll be able to plant it and contribute to one of the presentations today morning was on carbon credits. It will contribute to that. But I usually say greening. It will improve the environment. It will sequester carbon. And that's what we need. Something that grows so fast, you know, that you can have two to three crops at any point of Kenya year without irrigation. We're looking at rainfed agriculture because most of our agriculture is rainfed. This is the crop that fits the bill.
undefined: Well, then let's get a lot of hemp planted in Kenya.
: Yeah, we need to do that. We needed to do that yesterday. Yesterday, but you know, God's time is the correct time. Exactly.
undefined: It is now. Yeah. Plant it today. Well, the flag's been planted today.
: Yeah, today it's been planted. We do nothing. The seed has been planted. It will do nothing but grow. Exactly. In a good environment with enough water and warmth, it will grow.
undefined: I think that's a perfect way to leave it.
: Yeah. Thank you so much.
undefined: Thank you very much.
: Thank you for the interview and the podcast.
undefined: Thank you. Okay. Thank you.
: You too.
undefined: And we're back live at the Kenya Hemp Conference. I'm here with Dr. Riziki. How are you doing today?
undefined: I'm fine. How are you?
undefined: Oh, I'm doing great.
undefined: Yes.
undefined: So why don't you tell our listeners in the audience a little bit about yourself? Who do you work with? What do you do?
undefined: I'm Dr. Riziki Mudalu from Kenya Forest Research Institute. I'm a soil scientist by profession. So I do research dealing with soil and water management, basically, in the forest sector.
undefined: OK. And what do you think of the conference thus far?
undefined: So far so good. I've been inspired especially by the case study of Zimbabwe where this is coming to Africa and I'm seeing African countries that are reaping from industrial hemp.
undefined: Were you familiar with industrial hemp before this?
undefined: I had some bits and pieces, but not so much. So right now, it's really eye-opening for me. I'm learning more about industrial hemp, its potential for Kenya, especially for carbon sequestration, soil management, in terms of fiber production. We've had other fiber species like bamboo before, but now we are bringing in another species. into the country that can help us meet our favor needs, which is a good thing for the country.
undefined: Do you feel optimistic about Kenya legalizing industrial hemp here pretty soon?
undefined: If we put our cash very well to the government, I believe they can pick it up because they need to get the facts right about industrial hemp and what the country can benefit in terms of job creation, in terms of exports and all that.
undefined: Yeah, there's a lot of boxes that need to be checked.
undefined: Yes, and a lot of research to be done because what's working in America might not be necessarily what will work for Kenya, but with the research and development, I believe this one can work for our country.
undefined: Is there anything that you learned today about industrial hemp that you didn't know before?
undefined: Yeah, I did actually. In terms of carbon sequestration, I never thought industrial hemp can be used for carbon credits. For a country which wants to go for net zero in the next few years, I believe industrial hemp can also contribute to this. It can contribute to the country's NDCs also. For us to meet our NDCs, I believe industrial hemp can also contribute to this.
undefined: Well, there's research that's been done in Europe and I'm pretty sure that industrial hemp sequesters more carbon than pretty much any other major agriculture crop compared to soy, wheat, hay, sorghum, any of those major crops.
undefined: Yeah, so I believe introduction of industrial hemp at Kenya will give us more insights into this carbon credit. Right now in Kenya, carbon credit, we can't say we've made so much strides, but I believe industrial hemp can also help us enter into these carbon markets, especially for smallholder farmers, because from the conference we've learned that this even can be done in smallholder farmers, not necessarily those big farms. Most Kenyans don't have big farms, actually. We have small farms. So if we can do industrial hemp and get the fiber, at the same time get carbon credits, then I think this is a good thing.
undefined: When you speak about carbon credits, there's an organization called Hemp Carbon Standard, which you can Google, and they've got a lot of great information on their website that they've put together over the last several years, and they're working with farms across Canada and the United States and Europe and the UK, and really getting the methodology down to get the measurements and to create a carbon credits program, which right now is obviously voluntary, I would imagine that we'll see a more mandatory carbon credits market that's going to start to develop here in the coming years.
undefined: I think that's something we can explore and see what we can learn from it and see what Kenya can also benefit from such kind of carbon credits in the future.
undefined: Any final thoughts on the conference or industrial hemp in general?
undefined: Yeah, I think even from the presentation from Cairo, I think as a country we are heading in the right direction. We've set up the stage and I believe we'll get there.
undefined: I do too. Well, thanks for coming out to the conference and I look forward to seeing you again the next time we're around here and hopefully we'll make some progress here in Kenya and get it legalized.
undefined: Thank you for having me and I believe we'll get there.
undefined: All right, thank you. And we're back here live at the Kenya Hint Conference. I'm sitting here with Dennis who's from the President's office. How are you doing today?
undefined: I'm fantastic, Maurice. How are you doing?
undefined: I'm doing great.
undefined: Enjoying Kenya?
undefined: I love Kenya. I've been here for three days now and the hospitality's been great and the weather's been great and everything's been great. The food's been awesome.
undefined: Absolutely. I hope you've gone to the park. Nairobi is the only city with a park in the city.
undefined: Yeah, we did go to the park. We did the safari thing. We went and saw the baby elephants. We saw the giraffes. So it was great. Oh, fantastic. Fantastic. So what do you think of the conference so far?
undefined: Well, I enjoy the richness of the research and the presentation. I mean, Kenya is a highly conservative country, so it's good to see the thinking and the approach of the research to match that conservative thinking before the introduction of hemp. So I like the approach in the conference and the research. Deep, the depth, and also the bit of, you know, it's an easy conference. The conversations are great.
undefined: Sure. So is there anything that you've learned about industrial hemp thus far that you really did not know?
undefined: Absolutely, I did not know that there was a male and female version of cannabis. So that was an important bit. I also didn't know that you can produce wood from the hemp plant. So those are important things to learn. And textile, by the way. So it's really an eye opener on the whole process of the hemp plant and the hemp products that come with it. The interesting thing is that hemp is technically legal here, but you are able to buy the products for hemp in the shop. So, I mean, there's a policy issue there that needs some cleanup.
undefined: Right, because you can go buy hemp clothing here. You can go buy hemp hearts for food and so forth. Hopefully soon you'll be able to get some hemp wood. Greg's here to introduce that market. Like he said, did you know that I've got a hemp guitar company and I make hemp-bodied electric guitars and guitar cabinets out of his hemp wood? You can make all kinds of products. You can do flooring and trim. and all of that. So there's tremendous industrial opportunities and food opportunities as well as climate and environmental opportunities.
undefined: Absolutely, and given that our president is very interested in the climate conversation, it's a good plant to start a conversation around. But like I've said in my address, we need a little bit more of speedier conversations and we need to move from the air-conditioned hotels into the actual farms in the villages, so that the training moves from just training policy makers. I would understand the training in the air-conditioned hotel for policy makers, but we need now to move to the people, to the farmers, because then we need to change the conversation, not move from top up, but from bottom up.
undefined: Right. Well, we certainly want to see Kenya jump on board of the industrial hemp opportunity. The United States is here to help. Our embassy is here to help. And again, we'd love to come back. Anything that you need from our organization, National Industrial Hemp Council, just feel free to reach out. And we want to see things flourish here in Kenya, throughout Africa, and throughout the world when it comes to this crop.
undefined: Absolutely. I think we'll have a good partnership, especially this year, so that we can be able to push this quick enough. We hope by the time we are doing Christmas, we can have a conversation now, not only of allowing the branch to be commercially produced, but also a conversation about now what we do for the products, for the value addition.
undefined: Well, again, thank you for everything. Do you have any final thoughts?
undefined: Well, thank you very much for the eye-opening bit in this conference. And hope, as you said, we'll have a conversation together. I will actually, because I've gotten your contacts, we'll have an interaction and see what we can do together.
undefined: All right. Thanks, Dennis. Appreciate it. Thank you, Morris. All right.
undefined: Thank you. Thanks.
undefined: Live once again at the Kenya Hemp Conference. I'm sitting here with Cedric from Roots Africa. How are you doing today, bud? I'm doing very well. Thank you for having me, Maurice. Oh, absolutely. So why don't you tell the folks a little bit about Roots Africa and what you're doing and why you're here? OK.
undefined: So my name is Cedric Nwafo. I grew up in Cameroon. And growing up in Cameroon, we had six farms. We worked on those farms each and every day. But despite all of the hard work that we put in, there were still days when we could not guarantee our next meal. Fast forward a few years later, I made it to the U.S., studied agriculture, and decided to start connecting academic institutions and experts in the U.S. to farming communities in Africa. Now we've built a movement of agricultural change agents, and we are training them, sending them into the communities to train farmers. We've trained thousands of farmers and hundreds of changemakers so far. So great to be here, Maurice, and thank you for having me.
undefined: Absolutely, it's great to have you and thanks for all the work that you're doing. Thank you. So do you have a lot of farmers that are potentially interested in growing industrial hemp?
undefined: Absolutely. It's the next phase in our growth. So we have the young people that are evangelists to the hemp movement. And now we have farmers that are just looking for opportunity to make a better life. And what better crop than hemp with its versatility and the potential markets that it would offer. So we have an exciting group of farmers and young people put together that will just create the perfect recipe to transform communities in Africa.
undefined: That is fantastic. So what do you think of the conference thus far?
undefined: This has been fantastic, right? I thought I had studied, I had visited various sites in the U.S. and you come here and you see that is such a bigger world and hemp is a movement that is already going and everybody needs to hop on that train. Right now it's not just a vision, it's not an idea. A lot of people that are already on the train, we need to hop on and power forward. So I learned a lot about new applications, see what's coming out of some of our top universities in the U.S., and I'm excited to take all of these and apply it into our community transformation model. Is there any particular application that's like, wow, this is my favorite application? Yeah, so as I was watching all of those, I kept on thinking, how would this work for a smallholder farmer in a local community? And now seeing that there are easier applications, especially around animal feed, where we can easily utilize that. We can apply this in crop rotation, in soil restoration. That's an easy benefit. We can help our farmers to make ropes and mats from the fiber using very low-cost machines. So looking at applications that a local farmer can start utilizing hemp today We're not talking about a few years from now when they had millions of dollars to buy machinery. Today, what are those benefits? And just being here and seeing the various applications from the various presenters, I was able to pick out a few of those that I feel like, yes, this could be an opportunity that we could tap in and we could provide benefits to the farmers today and creating a path for adoption. I love to hear that.
undefined: That is great. Any final thoughts on the day and moving forward?
undefined: I sit here, my reflection is really excited about people like you, Maurice, Angel, and the others that started this journey a while ago without a promise of a successful industry, right? The chances of failure for most of you was a lot higher. I will tell anybody that's listening right now, The people that were at the forefront of this movement have dissipated a lot of those challenges, and it's making it easier. There's still a huge potential opportunity, especially for the African continent. So there's a huge potential opportunity, but we have to look back and say, thank God these people did not give up. Because there have been so many hurdles, be it legal, machines, there are others. But it's a lot easier than starting 10 years ago. So I'm really excited and grateful for you guys for making this possible, putting this conference together. It's going to achieve great things.
undefined: I appreciate your enthusiasm and I can tell you that none of this could happen without the farmer. That's true. We need the farmers. Otherwise, we don't have anything. We don't have food. We don't survive. So thank you for farming and inspiring and teaching others to farm. Thank you, Maurice. Thank you very much. That was awesome. Perfect. Back live at the Kenya Hemp Conference, sitting here with my good friend Rusty Peterson from the United States and IND Hemp. How you doing today, Rusty? Doing great. Doing great. Yourself?
undefined: I'm doing good. Nice. So what do you think about Kenya? Kenny's been phenomenal. You know, it's like when you have no real expectations, you know, I've been, it's blown everything out of the water as far as the local culture, the things to do here, the experience that is here. And then of course the passion and then the buy-in, you know, from multiple different agencies, delegates, just, it's been, it's been amazing.
undefined: Well, I'm glad that IND Hemp's participating. You're a partner in the event. You provided some materials for Kenya and obviously I think there's opportunities for IND Hemp and the U.S. to help get this market going. What do you think of the conference thus far and the reception that seems to be getting from the agencies that are here and so forth?
undefined: Yeah, I think that collectively the individuals that are here, kind of where Past work has been done, you know kind of to establish a foundation here. It's pretty surprising actually There's more people at the table, you know, the proverbial table here that are talking from multiple different cultures agencies, like I said, and of course then those individuals that are gonna kind of have the power to push things uphill, because it is going to be an uphill battle. It's challenging. It's going to be having to find the agronomic practices that are inherently perfect for different regions within Kenya, different from the coast, middle part. But having the collective voice that we're seeing here at the conference from multiple different stakeholders is honestly, I didn't see that early on back in the States. And it's happening here at such a nascent level that it's like, wow, they've got something here. I think it's something special.
undefined: I do too. And I think hemp can really contribute to the economy here and to the culture and to the people and the environment. And they're really excited to get this thing into rotation. interview already with the guy from the president's office, and it was pretty encouraging. So that's a big plus at this point.
undefined: Oh, it's huge. I keep hearing kind of what's resonating with a lot of those, whether it's some of the manufacturers and some of the potential off-take individuals that are here, as well as then government agencies is the SDG goals, the UN goals, and how it perfectly aligns with sustainability metrics. And then also the economy side of things and how it can help educate and kind of bring up the impoverished and the minorities in this space. And it's kind of like this circular system. that they completely understand, and sustainability seems to be driving a lot of those decisions. And so, of course, sustainability is great, but then when you talk to them about the functionality of hemp and really what it can potentially do if you get the supply chain, you know, assessed, you find the end use applications that are best. practices for industry that may or may not already be here the off takes and you know all of those kind of nuanced scalable steps that need to be kind of really developed at a granular level and you know working with Calro and who's brought in now and they're doing the trials and everything to doing their bite you know they're not just throwing everything in and saying hey let's put in you know 4,000 hectares right now, next year let's run, let's go. They're actually being pretty diligent with how they're looking at it and I think that comes by way of kind of a lot of individuals that they're speaking with and of course the NIAC, INDH being here and kind of being that sounding board as well and Angel and Kiyama have really done a good job of like directing those experts to kind of help guide and direct the conversations, which I think is crucial. Yeah, I really agree with everything you just said there.
undefined: So you got to present today, you talked about carbon credits and what else?
undefined: Carbon, sequestration, carbon credits, what basically carbon can do for the soils, you know, if done right in like a regenerative system. Also, in the crop rotations here within Africa and of course we need to understand so much more before we can make any confident claims but the fact that we've seen establishment in different regions and what the plant can do we need to figure out exactly how and what are the practices that then will have that as a function of growing hemp happen here, right? So whether it's, you know, carbon sequestration and then of course tying that to project design documentation for carbon credits and monetizing that, which would be a really strong thing for Kenya because they're really focused on the sustainability side of things. They're really focused on meeting SDG goals. And so again, if they can figure things out and be able to tap into kind of that carbon you know, financing mechanism, but then goes back into the communities, goes to obviously the project proponent who's maybe developing it, you know, maybe they're a growing collective of farmers in the area. That's one thing that's really going to help them to offset and mitigate potentially the higher price point of some of the raw materials into their supply chain. So it's pretty, it's, it's, it's exciting because they understand that, right? And so they understand, you know, it seems, it seems like it, that they're in for the long haul. Any final thoughts? Um, no, I mean, well, yeah, it's just been, it's been a really cool experience. It's been great, you know, being here with our delegation. It's been great conversing with culture here. And of course, getting that positive feedback. And I think that that's really the basis to build something, even if we know that there's a lot of challenges, that's what you have to start with is kind of that collection of individuals that are in it for the right reasons. and working together. I agree. Did you enjoy the goat roast? Yeah, heck yeah. That was an experience that I'll take with me into the beyond.
undefined: Yeah, I won't forget that either. Well, it's been great to hang with you and Trey and everybody else on this trip. It's been really good. Yes, sir. All right. Thank you. Absolutely. Thanks, Morris. And we're back here live at the Kenya Hemp Conference. And I'm sitting here with Femi. How are you doing today? I'm doing well, Morris. Nice to see you. Good to see you as well. And you just got off stage. Yes. And what did you present about today? About integrated pest management. Integrated pest management. And cultivation. OK. And why don't you tell folks where you're from and what you do? Thank you.
undefined: I'm from the Alabama State University, but originally from Nigeria. and I do research on hemp. Actually, my position is titled Director of the Industrial Hemp Program in Alabama State University. I have students and postdocs who work with us on research, different kind of research, both industry-wise trying to figure out what are the potential factors that influence the chemical components in the plants and also how we can reduce the use of food pesticides on the hemp cultivation. So just to make sure we're trying to do our best in protecting the environment and building a good foundation for future leaders who are our students, who will be future leaders of tomorrow. Why did you come out to Kenya to this conference? Thank you. Actually, Angel of Sanford Award invited me and when she sent me the invite, I said this is an opportunity for me to go showcase a little of what we do to Kenya. Probably this will help the policy makers in the country to see the need for why they need to also follow suit with other countries who have legalized the use of industrial air, and also to see how we can train our students to incorporate it in student research, and probably provide opportunities for student exchange between the United States universities and universities here in Kenya, just to see what we can do to make the future better.
undefined: That's totally awesome. Question for you, have you ever come out to NoCo Hemp Expo in Colorado?
undefined: Yes, I was there in Denver, Colorado in 2022. Yes, for the Cannabis Research Conference. Yes, so I was invited. by fellow entomologist because I studied more of insects in my PhD program. So there was a research presentation session that dealt with insect pests. So I was there and had fun.
undefined: Awesome. Was there anything in particular that you didn't know about hemp that you learned about hemp today?
undefined: I enjoyed one of the presentations that focused on industrial plastic. Let me quickly… The hemp plastic one? The hemp plastic one by Paul Benham. Hemp and plastics, a sustainable future. I've never heard about that. So it was amazing to see ways in which they are trying to limit the pair, you know, the mess of plastic remnants in the oceans that have been consumed by wildlife, ocean animals, and stuff like that. So now we can use them to produce natural plastic. So that was interesting to me, and new, and it was fun.
undefined: Yeah, Paul's a great presenter, even if he had a little difficulty with his slideshow. It doesn't make any difference because he can continue to talk about it and explain it very well. And that was truth. Yes. Paul's a great guy at being able to be on stage and explain pretty much all things him. Any final thoughts?
undefined: Yeah, again, I would like to see the policy makers to just go back and reflect on most of what has been presented today and hopefully open up the opportunity to legalize industrial hemp in Kenya and just to imitate Zimbabwe on that route and also imitate the United States. I'm sure my university will be more than happy to have an actually currently we have an MOU together with between Alabama State University and Savoy Award and hopefully when M is legalized in Kenya we can send out researchers from our university down here to in Kenya and then we can also have students from Kenya come see modern facilities of research in the United States of America for their internship program and also to just explore ways in which we can exchange ideas of research and collaboration. So the future is bright for him in Kenya.
undefined: I couldn't agree with you more. And thanks for coming over from the United States. It's a long track for us to come over here. I'm really glad that there's this U.S. delegation and whatever assistance we can provide to Kenya and other countries in Africa, I think we're all willing to do. We're willing.
undefined: I'll make sure next time I'm in Denver to make sure to link up with you.
undefined: Yeah, you definitely, you know, I'll give you my number and we'll connect, okay? Sounds good. All right, thank you. Thank you so much. All right. Yes, sir. Back live at the Kenya Hemp Conference, I am sitting here with Kinwa. How are you doing today?
undefined: I am very well, thank you. What about you?
undefined: I'm doing great, thank you very much. Why don't you let the audience know a little bit about what you do and why you're here at the conference?
undefined: Okay, thank you. My name is Kinwa Kamenshu. I am in the intersection of media communications and capacity building, so I run a communication firm called Blackstar Media, which works with changemakers to spotlight their work and innovations, and also on the capacity building side, we also do capacity building support to enable the visions to be entrenched onto the earth.
undefined: Okay, and what brings you to the Hemp Conference?
undefined: Well, I've been interested in hemp for the longest, longest time. In fact, I've known Gwada for maybe 15 years, and I've been following his activism with a lot of interest. But I think also I'm interested in hemp for the financial, in terms of like the business side of things, but also in a way, maybe also the spiritual side of things, because I'm also interested in like mind enhancing kind of products and that kind of thing.
undefined: Right. I know exactly what you're talking about. Yeah. And while that's not the focus of this conference. Yes, quite far from it. Yeah. You know, in the United States and plenty of other places around the world, you know, that's a that's another place that it's that this plant is taking off in. Yeah. You know, there's that's that side of the plant which has been embraced more openly than it is in other parts of the world here, such as Kenya. But on the industrial side, are there things that you've learned here today that you didn't know and any new applications that you're like, wow, that's super cool and I really like that?
undefined: Yeah, so it was very eye-opening in terms of seeing some of the possibilities, ways it can be used. The one that comes to mind first is hempwood. That was very eye-opening, the fact that the traditional flooring is actually unhealthy. And so what these guys are doing is, yeah, they've innovated a product that enables healthy, like the home environment to be healthier, and they're using it in school. So I was like, wow, because I didn't even know that, that apparently the statistics about how venial and how it's been correlated to cancer. So that was one big one. The other one was also on the food aspect of things. So those, well, I think we know about like weed cookies, but we don't know much about like hemp food or cannabis as a food product. The other really interesting one that I liked was Dr. Joyce Misoi and what she talked about, how, cause she's been in the mining space. I think she's the director of the Kenya Mines Agency. She's talking about planting of hemp, as a way to reclaim land that has been, land that has been, what's the word for it, destroyed, you know, left after mines, after mining has happened.
undefined: Helped to remediate the soil, remediate the land.
undefined: Yeah, so yeah, it's been very, it's been quite interesting.
undefined: Yeah, from a food standpoint, Hemp can definitely add a lot of value to a country and to sustainable food systems. It's an ingredient that can go into just hundreds and hundreds of different products. I eat hemp seeds every day. I put it in yogurt, put it in smoothies.
undefined: And do you feel a difference?
undefined: Well, it's a real healthy protein that's got all the amino acids. It's good with omega-3, 6, and 9, as far as the ratio goes. So yeah, it's just part of my regular diet. I try to eat as little processed foods as possible. I like to eat a lot of protein and kind of more of a paleo type diet. So I'm not opposed to eating meats and stuff. I just try to limit the processed foods and hemp's a good thing to have right in the middle of the mix of most everything. Any final thoughts about the day, the conference, and where legalization's going to be going here in Kenya?
undefined: So there was a gentleman from the government who came and he was very, well he's a progressive guy and the government, much as we like to throw mud at it, it's actually a fairly progressive government in terms of It's not ultra-conservative. There's a lot of very open-minded people. So I don't think it's going to be fought. I don't see the government itself fighting against this. Maybe it would be other stakeholders like the church and the religious sector that might feel attacked by this. So, the question of if it will be legalized, I think taking the approach of hemp, especially, rather than, you know, the cannabis and hemp as an industrial product, I think that would lead to a lot of buy-in, and especially looking at it from the, like, how many jobs can be created, how can it improve people's lives, So I'm actually, I'm not pessimistic, especially because the fact that this call has been happening for more than 10 years now, and there's a lot of even legislators that have been at the forefront of trying to push for it. And I think also like we're at a time in which there's so much negativity and toxicity and when we talk about weed, it makes people laugh. So I see it can be used in a kind of like a populist way to excite people and just take their troubles off life, I think. I see that as a possibility.
undefined: Well, as long as people understand the differences of the plant, you've got the industrial food side, and then you've got the more medicinal side of the plant. There should be really no opposition to utilizing the plant for industrial applications in food and nutrition. So once people understand that even if it's the same plant, the applications are different and it can be grown specifically for those purposes, and not the purpose of medicinal. And it can be difficult for those that want to use the plant for all of its full potential and all of its expressions, which I am a proponent of. Sometimes you've got to start slowly, and again, there should be no opposition once people understand that you can build houses out of this plant, you can make bioplastic, you can use it to build a multitude of car parts and paper products, remediate the soil, sequester carbon. food ingredients, animal feed, on and on and on. And like you mentioned hempwood, I use hempwood myself in one of my brands. I build electric guitars and guitar cabinets and amplifiers utilizing hempwood. So it's, you know, you can't, it's not just for making flooring and cabinetry and trim and that sort of thing.
undefined: And you buy it from their company?
undefined: Oh yeah, I buy it from Greg.
undefined: Oh, so like you all know each other?
undefined: Oh yeah, yeah. Okay, oh wow. Yeah, we are all working together to try to expand the production of hemp, not just in the United States, but all over the world, because we know that it can be beneficial in Africa, in Europe, in Asia, in Australia, South America. It can be beneficial everywhere for every local economy. So that's why we're here. Okay, good stuff. If you need anything, you just reach out and let me know, okay?
undefined: All right. Do you have your card?
undefined: I do. Thank you very much for joining me on the podcast.
undefined: Yes, thank you. Happy to have done this.
undefined: Back live at the Kenya Hemp Conference, I'm sitting here with Sakara. How are you doing?
undefined: I'm very fine, Mr. Morris Baker.
undefined: Yeah, well it's great to have met you and you're part of the organizing team here with the event and I thought you did a wonderful job, the whole team. Thank you. Why don't you tell me a little bit about what you do in your organization and how this came together?
undefined: Thank you so much, Mr. Bagel, for this opportunity. I must say, first and foremost, I'm very humbled to see this day coming to reality. I've been dreaming about it, you know, I've been fantasizing about it, thinking a lot about it, and really seeing it materialize is something that is really elating my emotions. So Sankara Nyagaya is a youth who's 30 years this year. And I have been in this space in regard to industrial hemp for the past eight years in the country. just trying to advocate and educate on the importance and also the difference between industrial hemp and cannabis. In Kenya, we have the narcotics and the psychotropic act. that was put in place in 1994 in our parliament and that act was putting or rather listing drugs and substances that are not allowed in the country. So this particular act did not use science to differentiate between industrial hemp and cannabis. As a result, the country has been unable to do anything with industrial hemp because it is classified as a psychotropic substance. So that's where I've centered my works around hemp because there's nothing we can do with the plant in the country. So really my journey has just been to educate, especially government, because those are my circles. I'm a young politician, I've been engaged in working with the government in regard to policy around the youths, policy around agriculture, around environment, conservation and climate change. So this is where I've been leveraging, this is where I've been advancing my work, trying to make government officials understand, trying to engage government agencies to understand the plant and its potential and how it can impact lives and communities. I was inspired to establish an organization that can help advance these works and also work with different organizations across the globe. And in 2021, I registered an industrial hemp farmers cooperative society. that is still existent up to now. I have also been able to touch base with Angel. Angel, who has been very instrumental in this country's conversation around industrial hemp. I got an opportunity to meet her. through a petition that we had also put at the courts in regard to decriminalizing the use of cannabis among the Rastafari people of this country. It is from that that she was able to identify me and we developed a working relationship. She's very strict and very particular. She doesn't do anything around cannabis, marijuana. So my works with her has been strictly and particular in advancing education, sensitization, and awareness in matters to do with industrial hemp. So it is from that opportunity that we were able to come together, form a close working relationship, and I was honored when she honored my invitation to be a panelist at the first ever industrial hemp conversation in this country that I put together in 2022 that was called the industrial hemp symposium She came, she brought hemp crepes, she brought hemp wood, she brought cotton, and she brought many other hemp products that really fascinated the people. We had invited the community and they were able to see first hand. You know, what we say verbally, they are now able to see. And you know, like the saying goes, seeing is believing. From that point going forward, things have been very, very different. And they've been moving with a much more faster rate. So, we are humbled and we are glad. We really appreciate the USDA. We really appreciate the National Industrial Hemp Council of America. We appreciate Let's Talk Hemp. We appreciate NOCO. We appreciate IND Hemp. We appreciate hemp plastic and all the partners that came together, actually not together, but all the partners that came down from the global north to help the global south advance conversations around industrial hemp to liberate our socio-economic status because as a continent We cannot shy away from saying that our people are really having issues around economics and we are confident that with the introduction of industrial hemp, the economics of this country, especially in regard to communities, is going to have a different perspective and we will experience growth. So it's without a doubt a very humbling moment for us, for the countries, for the players in the industry to actually connect and get insights, get advices and form a consortium that we can ask questions because The nature in the country in articulating issues, especially when dealing with government, is very particular. You have to engage government from a point of expertise. If you lack the expertise, then whatever presentation you'll be making will not hold water. So this opportunity, I believe, presents an opportunity for movers of industrial hemp in the global south to also get an opportunity and see how probably industrial hemp education can get into our universities. Industrial hemp education can be extended to the different people, stakeholders, and movers you know, so that we can be engaging government, we can be engaging the people from a point of expertise, from a point of knowledge, from a point of science. So, to me, that's That's what I see as a main presentation that the conference offers. An opportunity for me as Sankara to get more insights and advance my education around the plant so that I'm holistic when I'm articulating issues around industrial hemp. So that I am an expert when I'm engaging government in regard to industrial hemp.
undefined: Well thank you very much for your advocacy and activism and working with Angel and getting this put together and you inviting me out and NIHC and IND hemp and I'm glad that we could all come together and participate and advance the conversation here in Kenya. Thank you. Thank you so much. That's a wrap on this special edition of Let's Talk Hemp Volume Up from the Kenya Hemp Conference 2025, a.k.a. the Kenya Tapes. We've heard from industry pioneers, agronomists, policy makers, and entrepreneurs who are working tirelessly to unlock hemp's potential across East Africa and across the continent. The energy, the passion, and innovation displayed at Kihei Con 2025 prove that hemp is more than just a crop. It's a catalyst for economic growth, sustainability, and community empowerment. As we move forward, continued collaboration between farmers, industry leaders, and policymakers will be key to expanding the hemp industry in Kenya and across the entire continent of Africa. With the momentum generated at this conference, there's no doubt that Africa will play a crucial role in the global hemp movement. A big thank you to our guests and to the sponsors and partners who made this event possible, including the National Industrial Hemp Council of America, the USDA, IND Hemp, Savor the World, Bulk Hemp Warehouse, HempAware, Experience Hemp International, and of course, Let's Talk Hemp, as we were there providing media support and recording this podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Let's Talk Hemp Volume Up on your favorite podcast platform. Leave us a review and follow us on social media at Let's Talk Hemp for more industry insights. Until next time, keep advocating, keep innovating, and let's keep the hemp conversation going. Rock on.