DAGGA GROWERS GIVE POLICE RAIDS THUMBS-UP

PIGG’S PEAK – Dagga prices work much like those of alcohol, when supply is low, prices shoot up.

A dagga grower made this comparison when explaining how dagga raids by the Anti-Narcotics Unit of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) were playing what he referred to as crucial role in keeping dagga prices up. He said many dagga growers were excited about the recent raids which left 276 hectares of the illicit herb destroyed. This figure was confirmed by the Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer, Inspector Nosipho Mnguni. Most of the dagga is said to be grown along the banks of the Nkomazi River,which is also sometimes referred to as ‘the dagga belt’. Throngs of police officers, while under the escort of those from the Operational Support Services Unit, (OSSU) destroyed dagga around Nyonyane, Mayiwane and some parts of Maphalaleni. The officers also used a boat to patrol the river banks while in the Nkomazi River.

Destroyed

Noteworthy is that according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2014 report, Eswatini cultivated 1 500 hectares of land for the illegal herb. This means that the police only destroyed about less than a fifth of the dagga. Considering that there were more people now cultivating dagga, the figures are said to have increased, though the latest figures could not be ascertained. Another dagga grower in the Maguga area also shared similar views on the raids. He said police officers had been raiding targeted areas and they destroyed a lot of the illicit herb. One of the areas where the dagga was destroyed was Sisa Ranch, which is a government owned farm.

The dagga grower said since the hype of legalisation started, many people had started cultivated the herb such that even areas like Lavumisa now had dagga farmers. He said most of the country was now cultivating a similar grade of high quality dagga. “This means that the prices will drop,” he said. Despite the water scarcity in Lavumisa, dagga growers make means to pump water to the fields and at the same time take advantage of the town’s proximity to the South African borderline.

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