Carmanecta, a new Italian-Dutch variety of fibre hemp

A new Dutch registered variety could reshuffle the cards in the market. industrial hemp in Europe. Developed by the Italian-Dutch company Enecta, Carmanecta with results that immediately place it among the benchmarks for fiber.

Registered in the Dutch national catalog, the variety is now in the process of being included in the European Union's common catalog, which will authorize the marketing of seeds throughout the European market and is a prerequisite for any industrial-scale expansion.

According to Enecta founder Jacopo Paolini, the first certified seeds should be available to farmers by 2028.

Good test results in terms of height and yield

The approval of this variety follows official trials. VCU (Value for Cultivation and Use) conducted in the Netherlands under the supervision of Raad voor Plantenrassen, the national plant variety organization. VCU trials, an essential part of the European framework for evaluating new hemp genetics, measure agronomic performance such as plant height, biomass yield and marketability.

In these trials, Carmanecta recorded an estimated dry biomass yield of 16.9 tonnes per hectare, putting it slightly ahead of most European cultivars. It also stood out for its height, reaching 364 cm under test conditions.

By way of comparison, varieties such as Carmagnola (Italy) reached 312 cm with yields of 16.7 t/ha, while Carmagnola CS reached 308 cm and 16.6 t/ha. The French variety Futura 83 reached 337 cm and 16.6 t/ha. The Polish variety Białobrzeskie reached 350 cm with 16 t/ha, while the Ukrainian variety USO 31 measured 285 cm and produced 11 t/ha.

Hemp yields obviously vary according to environmental factors: soil composition, rainfall, temperatures and day length. Climates in northern Europe differ significantly from those in southern production areas, and results can vary accordingly.

A challenge for traditional Italian varieties

Historically, Italian genetics have played a key role in the European food industry. fibrous hemp. Carmagnola, in particular, has long been considered Italy's flagship fibrous variety, appreciated for its robust stems and high biomass yield.

Carmanecta's performance suggests that new breeding programs could now rival or even surpass these traditional varieties.

The approval of Carmanecta is also of symbolic importance for Enecta. In 2025, the company suffered a major setback when the Italian authorities, under the Meloni decree, The company's CBD-dedicated e-commerce platform was abruptly shut down, causing major economic damage.

«This is an important milestone for us, especially considering everything that has happened over the past year,» said Mr. Paolini.

«We're still in the recovery phase after the closure and the economic damage we suffered, and we're still clearly feeling the effects,» he added. «That said, we're doing our best to move forward, step by step.»