The Government of Ukraine is actively working on the revival of the hemp industry, having adopted Law No. 3528-IX, which regulates the circulation of hemp plants. Thanks to this, as experts expect, the area of hemp crops may increase to 8 thousand hectares in 2025. About this reported Ihor Vishtak, director of the Department of Agrarian Development of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
He visited the farms of the Khmilnytskyi district in the Vinnytsia region, where he got acquainted with the progress of harvesting late grain and technical crops. Vishtak noted that Ukrainian farmers increasingly grow hemp for industrial purposes, which contributes to the development of the food, light and pulp and paper industries.
“The cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes became possible after the adoption of the law on medical cannabis. Industrial hemp is also a variety of products with added value – food, light, pulp and paper and other industries.”, – noted Vishtak.
The adoption of this law opens up new opportunities for farmers, as hemp for industrial needs no longer requires licenses or quotas for cultivation.
Also, according to Vishtak, it is planned to create an electronic register of hemp producers in Ukraine, which will contribute to the transparency and development of this industry. He emphasized that hemp not only cleans soils of heavy metals such as lead and zinc, but also helps improve soil aeration.
An important role in the development of hemp cultivation is played by scientific institutions, in particular the Institute of Bask Crops of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Institute of Agriculture of the North-East, as well as 11 private agricultural enterprises engaged in the cultivation of seed material.
In addition, in November 2024, the Ma’Rijany Hemp Company plans to launch a plant for the processing of hemp thread into long fiber in the Zhytomyr region, which will give an additional impetus to the development of the industry.
The legalization of medical cannabis, signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in February 2024, also promotes the development of both medical and industrial aspects of cannabis cultivation.
