Growing Hemp

First you need a licence

In order to grow industrial hemp in Aotearoa New Zealand, you need to obtain an annual licence to grow hemp from the Ministry of Health. The licence comes under the Misuse of Drugs (Industrial Hemp) Regulations 2006. Industrially grown hemp in NZ must have a THC content generally below 0.35%.

• It costs $511.11 (incl GST) for the general licence

• It costs $153.33 (incl GST) for a research and breeding licence

• The licence document is "very specific and details the exact activities that can be undertaken on the specific location involving a specified area of land growing only those cultivars listed on the Licence"

• Hemp can only be grown from approved cultivars

• There is a security requirement for the crops, including being at least 5 km from an area zoned residential (unless approved by MoH), protection from unauthorised access or wandering animals, and not be visible from a road

• The Police must be notified as soon as possible after sowing or planting of the hemp crop

• Registers need to be kept of all hemp transactions, including how many and type of seeds or plants sown, how many were destroyed and the quantity of plants harvested

• A condition of testing the crop for THC levels before harvesting may be imposed

• Seeds for growing can be purchased from suppliers like Hemp Brokers

Growing

• It is naturally pest tolerant and crowds out weeds, so you don't need to spray the crops

• Industrial hemp requires nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium for optimum yields. Read more about the growing conditions at this excellent website here

• Research will be needed on which cultivars will grow best in Te Tai Tokerau's sub-tropical climate

What this means for whānau

• Once licenced, whānau could produce enough hemp to build a whare in a few months (compared to the around 20 years it takes for a radiata pine tree plantation to mature)

• There will be opportunities to develop businesses supplying hemp hurd and fibre to other whānau and the building industry