Italy: Three million euros for the hemp industry

Italian hemp growers will soon be able to receive up to 300 euros in public aid per hectare. The Minister of Agriculture has just signed a decree to help so-called «minor» agricultural sectors, including hemp. In all, the sector will benefit from a plan worth three million euros. A godsend for Italian hemp growers, who are already well ahead of their European competitors.

« The decree provides for aid per hectare equal to 300 euros, up to a limit of 50 hectares. It also covers research into new hemp varieties, rapid THC control methods and mechanization. Finally, we are providing aid to companies investing in hemp post-harvesting, drying, product cleaning and scutching facilities, explains à Canapa Industriale Giuseppe L'Abbate, who worked on the decree.

MP and Minister Stefano Patuanelli «believe I am firmly convinced that this crop has a thousand industrial, pharmaceutical, construction and food uses, and is not just for fun as some would like to put it.». He hopes that this new money will make it possible to « strengthen synergies between operators in the sector, create a system, and improve production by focusing on research».».

Italian hemp already ahead of the game

In the future, these public subsidies could strengthen Italian hemp's lead. On the industrial front, several regions are already banking on bioplastics, obtained from the plant's fiber. In terms of cannabinoid production, the Italians are the only people in the European Union (EU) who can grow hemp with 0.6 % THC. This means that CBD can be produced in higher doses than elsewhere.

Logical consequence: many French CBD sellers are sourcing from Italy. Especially since the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) authorized flowers to be sold in France if imported from an EU country. Calabria, in southern Italy, has even been dubbed «CBD Valley» by some. This is what as shown in a recent report by Envoyé Spécial, on France 2.

Another example of Italy's weight in the industry? The director of EIHA, the lobby promoting hemp to the European institutions, is Lorenza Romanese. And she's Italian.