Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zimmer and Company T’Shura Gibbs is giving the company’s commitment to sponsor 200 local farmers to attend the CanEx Jamaica 2019 Conference and Expo to be held from September 26-28 at the Montego Bay Convention centre.

“Last year we paid for 200 farmers to attend CanEx, as the intention is not to import products, we want Jamaican products; we want to distribute those products globally. This year we are also paying for 200 farmers from the ganja association to attend CanEx,” Gibbs said at the launch of the conference and expo on Wednesday, September 4 in Kingston.

As a means of appealing to these small farmers to attend, Gibbs noted that the conference promises to be a wonderful learning experience for them, which will also feature a free workshop, where they can come and be educated.

“Additionally there will be a cultivation workshop on the last day of the conference — free of cost; of which we want local farmers to participate. To produce finished products for medicinal purposes is a different type of growing than that for recreational purposes; farmers are [therefore] encouraged to take advantage of this to understand from global leaders”, she emphasised.

She further stated that the CanEx conference will be one wherein participants, even those at the smallest level, can learn new strategies for bettering their craft and tap into the benefits of the lucrative cannabis industry.

“This industry is what the Jamaican economy needs now, and I think there isn’t enough knowledge about the industry in Jamaica, people may want to participate but they don’t know how to; CanEx is that platform to learn and understand. If we are talking about job creation and contribution to the country’s growth and economy, then absolutely cannabis is the sector for Jamaica’s next big rush,” she told The Observer Sunday Finance.

Douglas Gordon, founder of CanEx Jamaica said that the conference to be held is one in which participants will learn new information about the cannabis industry.

“Persons including small farmers who are at the lower end of the earning bracket can become empowered to boost income streams and change their situations by taking advantage of the benefits of the industry.

“We have the opportunity with this industry to change people’s life through the economic benefits that it can deliver, and it would be absolutely a travesty if we were not able to get out of our own way and collaborate and really move this forward because empowering people who have lived with this huge income disparity the opportunity to go out there and earn their own ticket, is something that must not be overlooked,” he said.