Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says a team from Australia will be in the country soon to carry out extensive awareness regarding industrial hemp.

Sayed-Khaiyum was elaborating on the update to legalize the drug.

Industrial hemp is a thriving industry and has been used to create value-added products such as food, fiber, textiles, medicinal purposes, and at least 25,000 other uses that the government wants to tap into.

The Minister says the government recently held discussions with a group from Melbourne.

He says there is a possibility to involve the Fiji National University and other stakeholders.

“We are talking to them, so we said, where do we get the industrial seeds from? So they said the mother plants, lots of them, are available in Canada. So we want to have a relationship with FNU. FNU can do the seed bank, so those of you in the agriculture school, there is an opportunity for you.”

The Minister says all boxes need to be ticked before the United Nations approves a manufacturer’s license for Fiji.

“We have said that we will be amending laws. For example, at the moment, if we go to Canada now and say we are going to bring 100 mother plants for FNU Agriculture School to grow them and get more seeds, it would be illegal because we have to amend the law first.”

The Ministry of Agriculture has proposed a comprehensive legal framework for the cultivation, sale, and export of industrial hemp.