Ponta Delgada, Portugal, Oct. 3, 2024 (Lusa) - Farmers in the Azores are investing in hemp production, with several producers joining the project this year on four plots of land on the island of São Miguel, while others are going ahead in Pico and Terceira, according to the Cannabis Brotherhood.
Speaking to Lusa, the president of the Assembly of the International Cannabis Brotherhood Portugal, Graça Castanho, said that between April and July, after obtaining a licence from the DGAV - Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Science, a "pioneering group of farmers sowed hemp on four plots of land on the island of São Miguel".
"Two other licences, for Pico and Terceira respectively, were granted," but “so late that it was not possible to sow hemp this year,” he added.
Hemp is a plant of the species "cannabis sativa", used in the textile and cosmetics industries, food, paper production and construction.
According to Graça Castanho, since the species "is fast-growing [three, four months], all the hemp produced in this year zero, to analyse the behaviour of different varieties in various geographies of the island, has been harvested, according to the planned timeframe".
In the meantime, the producers are "experimenting with the raw material obtained", namely seed oil, vegan cheeses, teas, bread, flours, cosmetics, detergents, food, drinks, candles, cat litter, food for cattle and other animals, handicrafts, building materials, fibres for different purposes, according to the official.
"All the products will go through a process of testing and certification until they reach the end customer," said the president of the Assembly of the International Cannabis Confraternity of Portugal.
When asked if local producers were taking up the project satisfactorily, the university lecturer said that "with the knowledge of the benefits and potential of industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis, more and more farmers, producers, landowners, start-ups, companies and industries have become interested in cultivation and processing".
Graça Castanho predicts that by 2025, the number of licence applications for industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis projects "will increase substantially not only on São Miguel but also on other islands".
She also revealed that the aim is for "more producers to get involved in cultivation so that new industries can be created in sustainability, the agri-food sector and well-being".
"It's also our priority to accompany experimental fields with the Azorean government's departments. She emphasised that developing research with an international consortium and the University of the Azores will allow us to better understand the species for certain purposes and find a seed that suits the specificities of the islands" terrain, climate, wind, sun exposure, etc.
The Cannabis Confraternity wants the Azores to have a certified European seed "for sale in other markets and to cope with the eventual impossibility of buying in other foreign countries due to bad weather and other adversities".
Graça Castanho also considered that "there is an urgent need to think about the self-sufficiency of these islands in terms of hemp seeds" since hemp, "according to the largest and most important world bodies, such as the UN [United Nations], and a lot of literature from the European Union, World Bank, IMF [International Monetary Fund], WHO [World Health Organisation], etc., is a super plant with the strongest fibres in the world, the largest source of vegetable protein and building material", among others.
According to her, 25,000 products and by-products are made from hemp, a "plant of sustainability, as it regenerates and decontaminates soils, cleans up water, and is nature's biggest CO2 absorber".
On Friday, the International Cannabis Brotherhood Portugal will organise the IV CannAzores, which will take place at the São Miguel Agricultural Association in the Azores.
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