Cannabis farmers protest over unpaid earnings in Taounate

A group of farmers from several legal cannabis cooperatives in the Ghafsai area of Taounate province staged a protest on Tuesday over unpaid payments from a company that contracted with them to collect, process, and market their cannabis crops.

A huge convoy of rural transport vehicles and private cars carried farmers on a march to the city of Taounate.

They ended up holding a protest in front of the province’s prefecture, chanting slogans urging local authorities to intervene and ensure the company, which broke its contract, pays them the money owed.

Abdelkhalek Acchater, a farmer from the village of Waksat, part of the Glez commune, told Hespress AR that the legal cannabis project in his area has been struggling, despite strong involvement and enthusiasm from local farmers.

The farmer blamed the project’s failure on it being handed over to unreliable hands. He explained that farmers were initially promised that the legal cannabis initiative would help develop their region and provide them with a stable income.

Acchater, whose cooperative includes 11 members, said they had put in a huge effort to make the legal cannabis project a success.

But they were surprised when the company that bought their harvest didn’t pay them, even though it had received the cannabis crops back in November 2024.

The protesting farmers, representing 11 cooperatives in the Ghafsai area, tried every possible way to resolve the issue amicably with the company.

But each time, the company’s owner gave vague promises, only to recently inform them that the warehouse used to store the cannabis crops had burned down, according to the same spokesperson.

The farmer emphasized that not getting paid has caused them big money problems. Many are now struggling with debts they took on to start cannabis farming. They say this has affected their families a lot, both socially and emotionally, and left them in a tough situation.