Federal And Provincial Governments Support Alberta Hemp Alliance

n a press release on July 7, Alberta Agriculture announced that in an effort to support the Alberta Hemp Alliance (AHA) a one-time grant from both the federal and provincial governments is being given to establish a provincial industry association for hemp processing with more than $300,000 over two years (2021-2023) through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The Alberta Hemp Alliance (AHA) is a non-profit association of stakeholders collaborating to create a strong, competitive and diversified hemp industry in Alberta. AHA promotes market development and provides networking, tools and resources for Alberta hemp producers and processors. This grant will help the AHA fulfill its mandate as the provincial association for the hemp industry in Alberta. The intention is for the association to be self-sustainable beyond its first years of operation by creating revenue streams from membership fees, an industry sales levy, education and training, webinars, conferences and trade shows. In the past three years, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership has also provided more than $950,000 in grants to BioComposites Group Inc. (BCG) to support industry growth in the hemp fibre market in Alberta. The company has plans to build a new facility to decorticate hemp and flax, and to manufacture insulation and green building products. The project will create 100 full-time jobs, with a $30 million investment, and utilize straw currently wasted by farmers as well as employ crop diversification. “With this grant from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the Alberta Hemp Alliance will continue to build a diverse and collaborative community of like-minded individuals, businesses and organizations to facilitate the rapid growth of the hemp industry in Alberta. We will continue to focus on facilitating market development and provide provincial networking, tools and resources.” Corey Peebles, chair, Alberta Hemp Alliance.