How Industrial Hemp Cultivation Will Be Implemented in Armenia

On March 9, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Economy of Armenia to discuss the necessary legal acts for the implementation of hemp cultivation in the Republic of Armenia. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Minister Tigran Gabrielyan.

The working group includes representatives from the offices of Armenia's Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan, the Ministries of Economy, Health, Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, the National Security Service, the Police, the Food Safety Inspection Body, the State Revenue Committee, and the Armenian National Agrarian University.

The process will be implemented under the Agricultural Sector Development Plan aimed at creating high added value from new crops, approved by the Government of Armenia on February 4, 2021. This initiative aims to significantly increase the effective use of agricultural land.

Welcoming the meeting participants, Tigran Gabrielyan noted that hemp cultivation has been considered in the Ministry since 2017 as a new, high-value crop for producing various industrial raw materials.

Presenting the main phases of the process and the proposed actions, Varsik Martirosyan, Deputy Head of the Agriculture Department of the Ministry of Economy, mentioned that hemp cultivation is permitted in nearly 47 countries worldwide as an agricultural crop. The Ministry of Economy has thoroughly studied international practices of hemp cultivation, as well as the legal acts regulating the field and existing control mechanisms.

According to him, hemp cultivation in Armenia will be strictly regulated and licensed. In the first year of the program's implementation, a scientific and production cultivation of hemp is planned, which will allow selecting varieties suitable for Armenia's climatic conditions with a defined tetrahydrocannabinol content. Under licensed operations, certain companies will be able to engage in hemp cultivation, with preference given to those that will also carry out processing.

During the meeting, the working group discussed various issues regarding ensuring the efficiency of hemp cultivation, conducting laboratory tests, and implementing specific control mechanisms through cooperation between government bodies in relation to the processing of produced hemp.

Hemp provides multiple and waste-free processing, resulting in fiber (textile industry), paper, building materials, food (oil, margarine, food additives), hygiene items (cosmetics), medicines, and other technical products.