Summary

The Australian Industrial Hemp Program of Research (AIHPR) constitutes a $2,500,000 AgriFutures investment allocated across four themes over five years (2023-2028).

Guided by the Australian Industrial Hemp Strategic RD&E plan (2022-2027) the AIHPR will deliver research into hemp seeds and varieties (Theme 1), hemp primary production (Theme 2), hemp products (Theme 3) and aspects of hemp sustainability (Theme 4).

Theme 1 will develop a baseline and framework to secure a continued supply of characterized hemp varieties and improved germplasm to hemp growers across Australian agroecological zones and provide relevant information to guide growers’ decision making in respect to varietal choice for specific environments and end uses.

Theme 2 will provide grower-targeted information into hemp agronomy, including best management practices for sowing rates, fertilizer use, weed control and integrated pest and disease management. It will inform agronomic packages to help minimise risks of crop failure and maximize attainable yields under different cultivation environments.

Theme 3 will investigate the safe and beneficial use of hempseed-based end products in livestock, performance and companion animal feed and assess their value-add to end-product quality and animal welfare. It will further develop value-add processing of hemp seed meal by-product for high-quality and health-promoting peptides and investigate pathways to value-add to fibre and biomass.

Theme 4 will generate information and tools required for the industry to understand the sustainability credentials of hemp in Australia. It will address different aspects of industrial hemp sustainability, from crop production to processing and product utilization, with focus on carbon emissions and sequestration.

The AIHPR will be managed by Southern Cross University (SCU) that, together with an excellent technical understanding of the issues being addressed, has great experience in managing significant programs of research. As the Managing Research Organisation (MRO), SCU will implement internal governance mechanisms including a Monitoring, Evaluation and Review (MER) framework, an Annual Operating Plan (AOP) and an annual AIHPR workshop. Additionally, an AIHPR-external advisory mechanism will be implemented through an Industry Advisory Committee (IAC).

Program

New and Emerging Industries

Research Organisation

Southern Cross University