MMJ Daily
Growers still need to notify Police and the Ministry for Primary Industries before planting.. Officials may also request a criminal record check. A Canterbury seed farmer is making their European-bred, New Zealand-acclimatised cultivar Kompolti available for domestic small-scale use, alongside supply to larger commercial operations.
New Zealand Hemp Industries Association chief executive Richard Barge says the association’s project is about growing the industry in terms of people’s understanding of the plant and its possibilities. “This opportunity is where innovation can really happen in that cottage industry or at home,” he says. “People can now use the hemp that they grow and use that to make products and develop new technology to process or manufacture those products.”
Hemp is used globally across food, fibre, clothing, construction, health and wellness, and horticulture, but Barge says several product categories remain commercially restricted in New Zealand, including animal feed and natural health products. “There are still challenges with the value chain. We still face some hurdles that need to be overcome,” he says. “The lack of a natural health [hemp] products is stopping the health and wellness industry really taking off.”
Barge describes the notification process as straightforward, involving a simple email to Police with the plot’s location and a separate notification to MPI. “It’s a simple email, then getting the seed and putting it in the ground come October, November,” he says. “But the more people that are aware of them and pushing towards those markets, then the commercial reality will help support the argument for allowing us to get going.”
