A3.6 Hemp production
Develop an economic development plan for attracting industrial hemp production as a way to create local jobs and sequester carbon.
According to “The Role of Industrial Hemp in Carbon Farming”, advocating for its expanded cultivation as part of Australia’s climate planning:
One hectare of industrial hemp can absorb 22 tonnes of CO2 per hectare. It is possible to grow to 2 crops per year so absorption is doubled. Hemp’s rapid growth (grows to 4 metres in 100 days) makes it one of the fastest CO2-to-biomass conversion tools available, more efficient than agro-forestry.
It requires little fertilizer and no pesticides, and the fiber can be used in a wide range of applications.
It’s been legal to grow it for research purposes in the US since 2014, and the Washington Depart of Agriculture has been running an industrial hemp research pilot program. However, the 2018 Farm Bill legalized its cultivation, and the Department is currently developing an agricultural commodity program for it, in accordance with the requirements of E2SSB 5276, which passed the Legislature last session.