Germany: Brandenburg wants to push industrial hemp production across national borders

On Wednesday, the Brandenburg state parliament approved a motion by the coalition groups consisting of the SPD, CDU and the Greens, according to which the economic and ecological potential of commercial hemp cultivation should be better exploited. The coalition calls on the state government to advance industrial hemp production and the corresponding value chains across national borders, to examine funding programs for technologies for harvesting and processing industrial hemp and to reduce bureaucratic hurdles in the field of industrial hemp cultivation. Brandenburg's Agriculture Minister Axel Vogel (Greens) welcomed the state parliament decision. “The old cultivated plant hemp has been reviving since the 1990s and, in addition to economic potential, also has ecological advantages,” he said. The cultivation and processing of hemp products still represent a niche. In Brandenburg, however, there are already pioneers in the production of technical fibers and sustainable building ...