Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
- The delta-9-THC concentration of these
varieties must not exceed 0.20%.
- The collection of samples and determina-
tion of the delta-9-THC concentration are to
be undertaken according to the EU method-
ology prescribed in the accompanying
appendices.
- Applications to include a variety of
Cannabis sativa
L. amongst the varieties
listed in article 2 must be accompanied by a
report detailing the results of the tests
conducted according to Procedure B and
described in the Appendix of this Article. This
must be accompanied by a description of the
variety in question.
7.3 EU Legislation
The agricultural legislation and subsidy schemes
will be presented here.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
has evolved considerably since 1992. Initially,
the aid distributed to farmers was individualized
according to plant species. In order to conform
to the economic rules of the World Trade
Organization, the EU has worked to uncouple
subsidies from specific crops. In its place, it has
introduced a Single Payment Scheme (SPS)
which provides a flat rate payment that may
take into account historical factors. As of 2010,
CAP subsidies are completely decoupled, that is
to say they are no longer tied to specific crops.
Payments under the SPS may be triggered for a
wide range of crops, including hemp.
Industrial hemp attracts a specific 'trans-
formation incentive' of €90/t pure fibre, pro-
viding the following conditions are met:
The Order of 24 February 2004 further speci-
fies the maximum authorized concentration of
THC in these varieties (0.2%), as well as the
method of sampling and analysis.
The approved varieties, whose cultivation
is authorized, are indicated in the following
Orders published in the
Journal Officiel de la
Republique Française
:
1. Processors in receipt of this aid must be
approved by the
Agence de Service et de
Paiement
.
2. Production on French soil must be on quali-
fying CAP land.
3. The relevant paperwork must be completed.
•
22 August 1990
•
27 May 1997
•
2 July 1999
•
24 February 2004
•
5 September 2005
•
21 February 2008
As of 2010, the French companies with the
necessary authorizations are:
This list may, depending on how it is updated,
vary from the list of hemp varieties authorized
within the European Union and appearing in
the
EU Common Catalogue of Varieties for
Agricultural Plant Species
, which can be
found at
http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/
htm
(accessed 17 June 2011).
In practice, and providing the seeds used
are of an approved variety (and that this can be
demonstrated), the cultivation of hemp for
industrial purposes is perfectly legal.
A control system has been instituted by
the French state to ensure the EU legislation
is observed. The
Agence de Service et de
Paiement
has been charged with policing
this system. Random sampling and testing of
30% of the land under cultivation is under-
taken, as permitted by the Order of 24
February 2004, in order to check
in situ
that
the maximum authorized THC levels are
being respected.
•
Agrochanvre (Barrain group)
•
Agrofibre (Euralis group)
•
Câlin (CAVAC group)
•
Eurochanvre (Interval group)
•
Starthemp
•
Terrachanvre
In addition to these companies, the German
firm BAFA also cultivates hemp in France
under a state licence.
Additional restrictions that must be satis-
fied are:
•
An audit must be conducted of the decor-
tication process to ensure that impurities
do not exceed 25%.
The recording process should be able to
•
demonstrate that fibres are eligible.
The subsidies available for transformation/
processing are planned for the 2010 and 2011
seasons, but may disappear in 2012.
