AQW 7703/17-22 Written question to the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs whether he plans to work with the Minister for the Economy to develop a hemp industry in Northern Ireland.
Asked by Claire Sugden MLA on 28 September 2020
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 28 September 2020
- Answer due by
- 13 October 2020
- Answered
- 9 October 202011 days after tabling
- Priority question
- No
Answer
My officials met with members of the Northern Ireland Hemp Association on 14 February 2020 and provided them with advice on the ways my Department can assist this sector. This included signposting potential support under the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, and information on the services that DAERA’s College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute provide that could benefit the industry. In June 2020, CAFRE provided some further information to the Northern Ireland Hemp Association.
I am also aware that my officials have had engagement with the work that Invest NI has been doing to look at the economic potential of industrial hemp.
At present, I have no plans to engage with the Minister for the Economy about the hemp industry in Northern Ireland.