Under the Canary sun: first medical cannabis farm aims to transform the region into a pharmaceutical hub

The Canary Islands have taken an unprecedented step into the medical cannabis market. Known for its sunny climate for much of the year, the archipelago received authorization for its first certified cultivation site, an initiative that combines agricultural production, technology, and pharmaceutical manufacturing in a single complex.

According to the website Newsweed, the project is expected to strengthen the region's presence in the European cannabis-based medicines industry.

Developed by Nivaria Tech in Tenerife, the facility was approved by the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) and will follow the European Union's Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.

Natural climate is one of the project's key advantages

According to Newsweed, the company is betting on the natural conditions of the Canary Islands to optimize cultivation. The combination of sunlight, trade winds, and low temperature variations allows for production cycles of approximately 60 days, with expectations of up to six harvests per year. "Other manufacturers, both in Europe and the United States, work with artificial light, while we will develop our active pharmaceutical ingredients thanks to sunlight. We hope, therefore, that the chemotypes the plants already possess can be fully expressed under the influence of solar light stress, rather than artificial lighting," said Valeriano Rodríguez, plant director at Nivaria Tech, in an interview with Newsweed.

Technology and traceability accompany the entire production process

In addition to cultivation, the complex brings together post-harvest processing and pharmaceutical manufacturing. According to Newsweed, the company developed its own traceability system to monitor all stages of production, from cloning to laboratory testing.

The facility also features contamination control technologies and strict safety protocols to meet the requirements of European pharmaceutical regulation. "Our project allows us not only to be the first company in the Canary Islands to obtain this request and authorization, but also to position ourselves as a company committed to know-how, circular economy, and the use of renewable energy (...) We intend to produce a medicine so that the end user experiences a journey. Not only in its use, but also in its traceability," Rodríguez highlighted to Newsweed.

The goal is to boost the local pharmaceutical industry

According to Newsweed, the company believes the initiative could encourage other pharmaceutical manufacturers to set up operations in the Canary Islands, a region currently dependent on imports for most locally consumed medicines.

For Rodríguez, greater institutional support and an AEMPS inspection infrastructure in the archipelago could foster new investments and expand pharmaceutical production in the region.