Australia’s hemp industry is on the verge of “booming” after outdated legislation curtailed its growth for more than a decade, according to farmers and industry experts.
In 2017, Australia became one of the last countries in the world to legalise hemp for food consumption.
Charles Sturt University agribusiness lecturer Christine Storer said the delay in legislation had held back the industry.
“There are a lot of regulations, a lot more than other countries, as there has been a lot of concern around the association between hemp and cannabis,” Dr Storer said.
“It has taken us a very long time to get there but I think we are past most of that now.”
According to a report by AgriFutures, Australia’s production of hemp had grown from 100 hectares in 2013-14 to 2,300 hectares in 2020-21.
‘Game changer’
Twelve years ago, Bob Doyle made the switch from dairy to hemp on his property near Vacy in the Hunter Valley.
Bob Doyle has been growing hemp on his property for more than a decade.(ABC Rural: Hamish Cole)
He hoped the industry’s potential would secure the future of his farm for generations to come.
“We were looking for some enterprise that had some future and could offer some agricultural opportunity for the next generation,” he said.
“We always hope that our grandkids have got a choice to continue farming.”
In 2017, the food consumption of hemp was legalised in Australia. (Supplied: Bob Doyle)
Mr Doyle said the industry had expanded since the 2017 decision to legalise hemp for food consumption.
“It has grown quite steadily over the past 10 years, but the thing that has really progressed industrial hemp is the grain and food industry,” he said.
“It is going to boom now, food approval across the nation was a big game changer.”