PharmaCielo has signed an exclusive agreement with Cooperativa Caucannabis to jointly cultivate in the historic cannabis producing region of northeastern Cauca, Colombia.
Formed in mid-2016, Cooperativa Caucannabis is a cooperative comprised of 53 regional farmers in the northeastern Cauca department from five communities: Corinto, Toribío, Miranda, Caloto and Jambaló. The mayors of these five communities, together with the full support of the Government of Colombia, encouraged the creation of this innovative initiative to eliminate illegal cannabis production and unite the region’s cultivators in an association that could apply for legal cultivation licensure under the terms of recently announced Colombian legislation.
“Regional partnership with Cooperativa Caucannabis is a reflection of our commitment to leading Colombia’s newly-formed cannabis industry in a way that should benefit all of Colombia,” said CEO Federico Cock-Correa. “As fellow Colombians, we believe that supporting small producers is essential to the economic health of local communities, the national economy and PharmaCielo alike.”
Under the terms of the agreement, PharmaCielo and Cooperativa Caucannabis will jointly apply for cannabis cultivation licensing from the Government of Colombia. The agreement positions Cooperativa Caucannabis and its members to participate in Colombia’s legal cannabis industry by working together with PharmaCielo to cultivate cannabis that will be harvested for the purposes of producing standardized, medicinal-grade oil extracts and related products.
The harvest gathered from the Cooperativa Caucannabis members will be in addition to existing contract grower relationships that PharmaCielo holds in the Rionegro region, and will significantly increase PharmaCielo’s overall cultivation and harvest volume.
As part of the agreement, PharmaCielo will purchase land in the region to construct a fully secure, scalable cultivation facility that will house open-air greenhouses similar to those currently operating at its nursery and propagation centre in Rionegro. The contract grower arrangement with Cooperativa Caucannabis will also enable PharmaCielo to access and propagate indigenous Colombian strains in their natural environment where they have become acclimatized over decades, and even centuries.
“PharmaCielo is proud to have the opportunity to work together with Cooperativa Caucannabis to develop sustainable, legal production in the northeastern Cauca region of Colombia. We took part, together with the farmers and governmental representatives, in several town hall meetings to ensure that all stakeholders’ interests were taken into consideration in this process. A former FARC stronghold ravaged by decades of conflict, the small cannabis farmers living in the war-torn towns and villages throughout this historic cannabis producing area of Colombia deserve to participate in Colombia’s newly legalized cannabis industry,” said Cock-Correa. “We look forward to developing additional strategic partnerships with regional associations of small producers throughout the country in the future and supporting the country’s post-conflict rebuilding efforts.”