Ecuador kicks off first collaborative hemp production for sustainability

Earlier this year, the government of Ecuador approved the country's first hemp production under a partnership between Green and Growth SAS, Nobis Holding de Inversiones, one of the largest groups in Ecuador, and the Latin American Industrial Hemp Association (LAIHA). The initiative aims to establish Ecuador as one of the economies joining the global commitment to the production of sustainable materials and resources, reports Hemp Today.

In an initial phase, companies will grow hemp in fields of 100 to 1.000 hectares with fields and processing expected to expand and investment to increase between 25 to 50 million dollars from 2025. cannabis flowers, which are then exported. However, the new initiative marks the first effort to develop the production of hemp fibers and seeds for high quality materials, such as technical fibers, bio-charcoal and other value-added products, both for export and to stimulate the market. internal.

Jaime Gomez, CEO of Green and Growth, told Hemp Today that “among the main objectives of this initiative is to position the country as one of the economies that adheres to the global commitment to the production of sustainable materials and resources”.

Lorenzo Rolim da Silva, President of LAIHA, said that some Chinese seed varieties have been thriving in latitudes close to the equator, which has been a challenge for growers due to reduced daylight hours, which are not compatible with the European cultivars of fibers and seeds developed in the northernmost latitudes. He added that certain Chinese varieties even performed well in Paraguay, reaching heights of over six meters.

According to Rolim da Silva, “these plants produce much larger seeds than the European varieties and can withstand the heat, not to mention that they are considered 'day neutral': they only flower after about 30 to 45 days in the field, regardless of the condition of short days”.

According to Hemp Today, Ecuador laid the groundwork for the development of the country's hemp industry with the publication of the Ministry of Agriculture's 2020 regulations. The National Assembly paved the way for hemp when, in September 2019, it decriminalized the cultivation and production of hemp products, setting the THC limit in hemp at 1%.