AS it prepares for its first AGM the newly-formed Federation of International Hemp Organizations (FIHO) says it envisages a 2,000% increase in the crop’s global footprint over the coming decade.
The FIHO says that since the turn of the century the versatile hemp crop has been embraced by agriculture and industry as its ‘eco’ credentials align with global carbon-reduction goals.
New figures released by the organisation show that in 1999 hemp’s global cultivation footprint amounted to 94,694 hectares with this expected total 228,000 hectares planted 2022.
And, by 2030, the FIHO predicts the global footprint of the hemp crop will total almost 4.8m hectares – an increase of 2,000%
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Communications Officer Lorenzo Silva, the President of the Latin American Industrial Hemp Association, told BusinessCann: “Hemp has a tremendous potential for growth in the coming years.
“The crop is very well aligned with most of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and presents enormous potential for carbon sequestration projects due to its fast and vigorous growth in the field, therefore it is very attractive for most of the agro-industrial projects being funded globally nowadays, and that will receive funding and tax incentives in the near future.
“The overall global regulatory panorama is changing rapidly in recent years. Not only we have seen major updates in the Euro-zone, like the 0.3% THC level update, we have also witnessed the USA federal legalization of hemp as a traditional crop, and many Latin American countries either regulating the production or outright legalizing hemp to be grown at a large scale.”
First AGM And 14 Members
The FIHO – which spawned out of a 10-year collaboration between the Europe Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) and Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA) – will hold its first AGM in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on November 18.
Its members include;
Australian Industrial Hemp Alliance (AIHA)
Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA)
China Hemp Association (CHA)
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
Indian Industrial Hemp Association (IIHA)
Latin American Industrial Hemp Association (LAIHA)
National Industrial Hemp Council of America (NIHCoC)
American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH)
Kentucky Hemp Association (KyHA)
Texas Hemp Growers Association (TxHGA)
Uttarakhand Hemp Association (UHA)
Hokkaido Industrial Hemp Association (HIHA)
Mongolian Hemp Association (MHA)
New Zealand Hemp Industry Association (NZHIA)
The FIHO is in the process of recruiting its first paid-for member of staff; a Director General charged with driving forward its growth agenda.
One of its first goals is to build common industry positions and fill in data gaps by creating a common database of hemp research and knowledge, whilst working to establish international policies and regulations.
It aims to work closely with the leading global intergovernmental agencies such as; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organization and World Health Organization.
Lorenza Romanese, Managing Director of the European Industrial Hemp Association said: “The global hemp industry is emerging out of the shadows and freeing itself from the pernicious prohibition era, right across the globe.
“The industry is key to the future to the welfare of all inhabitants of the planet, and now we have an organisation that will represent the industry at the highest level of International policy-making and discourse.
“Our aim is to advance the global production, consumption and trade of industrial hemp by encouraging innovation, research and development and sharing knowledge and harmonising standards.”
Mr Silva added: “The FIHO brings together industry leaders, market expertise, and resources; to speak with one voice on hemp issues at the global level. Our aim is to Identify and create opportunities to scale sustainable hemp production, marketing, and trade, and, benefit the global hemp industry, consumers and the environment.”
The global hemp industry is predicted to be worth over $17bn by 2028.
Board Of Directors
Ted Haney, Canada (CHTA)
Daniel Kruse, Europe (EIHA)
Hongliang Ding, China (CHA)
Patrick Atagi, USA (NIHC)
Charles Kovess, Australia (AIHA)
Keith Jones, Canada (CHTA)
Jason Fung, China (CHA)
Lorenza Romanese, Europe (EIHA)
Rohit Sharma, India (IIHA)
Gaurav Dixit, India (UHA)
Lorenzo Rolim, Latin America (LAIHA)
Michael Bronstein, USA (ATACH)
Hunter Buffington, USA (NIHC)
Joseph Hickey Sr., USA (KYHA)
Kyle Bingham, USA (THGA)
