Blueberries Medical has announced that the Ministry of Justice and Law of the Republic of Colombia has granted a non-psychoactive cultivation license for the Zipaquira property, making it the Company’s second fully licensed cultivation facility in Colombia. The granted license brings Blueberries closer to being one of larger licensed medicinal cannabis producers for domestic and international distribution. In order to quickly and cost-effectively bring the Zipaquira property into production, the Company has signed a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) to enter into a joint venture with QualCann SAS (“QualCann”) for the development of the property into a low-cost outdoor cultivation facility.
QualCann was one the first licensed cannabis producers in Colombia to successfully register cannabis strains in 2018 and has a portfolio of proprietary strains developed specifically for outdoor cultivation as well as significant experience and expertise in this area. Under the LOI, QualCann will provide their specialized genetics, share best practices with Blueberries and contribute to any capital and operating expenses in exchange for a share of the produced cannabis. The excellent conditions for outdoor cannabis cultivation at the Zipaquira property will allow the Company to achieve significant operational savings on the energy cost for artificial lighting and water. The outdoor operation will follow an asset-light model with minimum capital and infrastructure costs, as opposed to a more capital intensive indoor or greenhouse cultivation models.
The region where the Zipaquira property is located features a skilled labor force, with a long history of flower cultivation. The experienced labor force will be a key catalyst in the rapid growth of Blueberries’ ultra-low-cost cannabis production. The Zipaquira property is located just 25km from the Company’s state-of-the-art extraction facility, making it an ideal production site for feed stock to be turned into high quality cannabis oils and finished products. First crops at Zipaquira are expected to be planted before the end of Q2, 2020.
"We are pleased to have received this important license and entered into this strategic relationship with QualCann, an experienced partner that will allow us to apply a low-cost approach to outdoor cannabis cultivation with minimal capital investment," stated Blueberries CEO, Camilo Villalba. “Our combined focus will be on optimizing the operation to produce cannabis with the highest possible concentration of active non-psychoactive cannabinoids, with the ultimate goal of extracting these compounds at the lowest cost and highest purity possible. The climate found in the highlands of Colombia represents a great opportunity to produce unique and valuable cannabinoid profiles with capital-efficient outdoor cultivation.”
“Our team’s expertise coupled with Blueberries’ massive cultivation and extraction infrastructure is a huge competitive advantage in the global markets,” stated Dr. Eduardo Covo, QualCann’s Research and Development Director. “Together we will offer to the market one of the highest quality products at a very competitive price.”
Zipaquira Property
Acquired by the Company in February 2019, the Zipaquira property is a 37-acre (15 hectares) agricultural property in the Bogota Savannah. The Zipaquira property consists of fertile land ideally located approximately 24km from the Company’s existing 430,000 sq. ft. (4 hectares) fully operational Guatavita production facility and 25km from the Company’s state-of-the-art extraction facility. The Zipaquira property has ideal growing conditions to cultivate consistent, high quality dried flower. There is ample supply of natural spring water and the area’s abundant access to natural sunlight is expected to result in electricity costs that are significantly below market.
For more information:
Blueberries Medical Crop.
Calle 93 # 15 - 51 Of. 406
Bogotá, Colombia
(57) 1 794-1798
[email protected]
blueberriesmed.com