‘Cannabis develops pest control in South America’ – Interview with Lorenzo Rolim, LAIHA president

AgroPages exclusively interviewed agronomist Lorenzo Rolim, president of LAIHA (Latin American Industrial Hemp Association). He reveals that the crop has gained a lot of traction in local agriculture in the last five years but confesses that there are enormous challenges to be overcome, such as the lack of registered hemp-specific pest and disease control products.

What is the current outlook for Cannabis culture in Latin America?

It is crucial to start by separating the Cannabis culture into its two predominant aspects, divided in relation to the amount of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, psychoactive substance) produced, industrial hemp, which has a maximum content of 0.3% of THC in dry weight, being a non-psychoactive plant, and medicinal Cannabis or for adult use, which has varying levels of THC, usually in the range of 12 to 25% in dry weight.

The culture has gained much traction in local agriculture in the last five years, and more so in the last two. The cultivation of industrial hemp is a reality today in Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Ecuador. These countries have developed policies that correctly classify industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity, generally under each country's Ministry of Agriculture, while keeping high-THC Cannabis under the responsibility of health and drug control bodies.

These policies allow greater freedom to farmers who decide to bet on the new culture, which has obtained good results in the region, especially in the production of grains for food purposes, such as flour and olive oil. Cannabis for medicinal purposes or adult use is now a reality only in Colombia and Uruguay, with changes to the law in Paraguay, Argentina and Mexico still expected in 2022.

What kind of pest and disease control are most used by producers in the region?

Today most crops in Latin America have gained the knowledge necessary to operate based on their own experiences. There is no unified knowledge about the industry widely available to the public. As a result, the species is rarely mentioned in Agronomy or Agricultural Engineering courses.

Based on the experiences of companies Associated with LAIHA and the crops that I follow as an Agronomist, the predominant control is still chemical and the biggest pest problems are three: 1) Ants, in the early stages of cultivation and usually solved with the application of Fipronil; 2) Bed bugs, attacks normally in the intermediate moments of the cultivation and controlled with the use of products that are normally applied for the same control in Soy and other traditional cultures and; 3) Caterpillars in general, both borers (hemp has a "hollow" stem perfect for the life cycle of borers) and other common caterpillars such as Helicoverpa, False medideira, Spodoptera, etc. Also typically controlled with standard products used in Soy.

Are there enough registered products?

There is no product registered for use in hemp today in most countries, not only in Latin America but also in the world. In Europe and Canada, there are a few products, but a meager number compared to the options that producers and engineers have when working with traditional crops such as Corn and Soy. I consider it one of the areas that most needs support today for greater adoption of the culture by producers.

Bringing an example in the field of invasive plant control, the only option we have today for hemp is grass control (hemp is a "broad leaf", eudicot), such as trifluralin, clethodim or sethoxydim. Of the herbicides we tested, none of the herbicides is selective for hemp, so all of them cause damage to the crop and make their application unfeasible. A broadleaf control tool in hemp would bring enormous benefits to farmers.

What biological alternatives have been employed?

Fortunately, we have relationships with producers that are linked closely to the use of organic products. For example, several biological control alternatives were used in past harvests, focusing on controlling various pests. The main agents used were: Azospirillum, Bradyrhizobium, Pseudomonas, B. Amyloliquefaciens, B. Subtilis, B. Thuringiensis.

We can say that farmers who have the initiative to produce hemp and Cannabis usually prefer organic products and purchasing companies, which normally pay a premium for products certified as organic.

What challenges are Cannabis growers facing, and what are the opportunities in this sector?

The main challenge is the lack of clear information about products in the region, an issue that the Latin American Industrial Hemp Association is trying to remedy through a complete guide to cultivation and processing that will be offered in the second half of 2022. Producing a new crop is always challenging for the rural producer, even more in today's days of constant stress and climatic uncertainties.

This also generates great opportunities; after all, hemp is a culture of high added value, especially considering the production of flowers and medicinal compounds. It is also engaged in the production of grains and natural fibers, causing producers to adopt the culture earlier. They make a higher risk bet, that it will come out ahead of the pack as the culture becomes more established in the region and around the world.

In your opinion, what is the future of this segment?

In countries that are currently major producers of commodities such as Brazil, the future will be linked to the production of grains and natural fibers, as we do today extensively with Soy and Cotton. This will depend on the adaptation of the processing industry that currently exists to operate with hemp grains and fibers. Grain processing is relatively simple and can be done with few adaptations, fibers require greater investment but offer numerous possibilities for uses in different products and industries.

In countries that traditionally have agricultural industries with higher added value, as is the case in Colombia with coffee and the cut flower industry, Cannabis should be produced more for the purpose of producing flowers for the extraction of medicinal compounds. This type of production requires much smaller areas, typically produced in greenhouses and labor-intensive, unlike hemp, which is nothing more than a large-scale agricultural crop.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)