There is an extreme need of knowledge and expertise in the medical cannabis industry, says Juriën Koster, vice president of international relations with Ofinext. This is the main reason that talks during the GreenTech show in Amsterdam next week are going to address a complete overview of topics from the cannabis industry.
“The cannabis industry is a truly special subset of horticulture,” Juriën explains. “Within the cannabis industry there are a lot of companies that have no horticulture background. This results in growers that encounter many difficulties as maybe they went from growing cannabis illegally in a basement or in an attic, to grow in large-scale commercial operations.” Not only that though, as even horticulture veterans could find themselves exploring uncharted territories. “To put it bluntly, even though cannabis and horticulture are very closely related, there are a few differences that even horticulture experts need to be aware of”, he explains.
Juriën Koster, vice president of international relations with Ofinext
Ofinext actually is one of the companies that acknowledges the role of horticulture for the cannabis industry, and that’s why they work closely with the horticulture sector in the Netherlands as “they are indispensable for the cannabis industry,” says Jurien. Being a partnership between Lab Ofichem and Phytonext, they actually are combining knowledge from the medical industry with Food/horticulture. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Jurrien is part of the organizing team for the cannabis program during next week’s GreenTech, the trade show that unites the global high-tech horticultural world. Speaking with various Horticultural suppliers and of course the trade show organizers, he arranged a complete program on Thursday and Friday. Experts and insiders will take the stage to recount their experience and to share their know-how. Juriën will host the talks and panels and will also be present at the medical cannabis pavilion. It is the first time the GreenTech Exhibition will include this, aiming at giving exposure to innovative technologies as well as at providing education to this nascent industry. “The GreenTech in Amsterdam will be the perfect occasion to hold this type of informative events,” Juriën says. “Greentech offers you a complete picture of technologies used for the cultivation of medicinal cannabis. We will discuss the potential of medicinal cannabis, as well as current limitations within the legal framework.”
Vertically integrated
So, what is there to learn? As said, with the medical cannabis industry being relatively new, upscaling is an issue. That is why the different panels and talks will tackle almost everything related to the industry. For example, best practices, compliancy, and technology will be discussed. “Unlike the majority of horticulture businesses, a number of cannabis companies is vertically-integrated. Additionally, the amount of money that goes in this type of venture is very high, which is not much common within horticulture. But still there’s a lot to learn from a horticultural point of view and also for investors: We will provide a general overview of the market and of the industry. We will discuss also horticulture tech applied to cannabis, and compliance.”
Many experts and people from the industry will partake in the discussions, sharing their precious insights and thoughts. “One of the nicer things is that we have several of the top horticultural companies talking about different kind of crops and what they can do for cannabis,” Juriën points out. “There will be 5 panels with top players within the cannabis industry sharing their knowledge with the audience. We hope to bring true value to the companies visiting the show and the programs, because we believe there’s a lot of knowledge waiting to be shared.”
And even though this is the first time that this type of event takes place, Juriën laughs how the “the tryout went way better than expected. We are sure that this event will be a success, but mostly very informative for everyone involved or soon-to-be involved in the cannabis industry.”
For more information:
Ofinext
Agro Business Park 10, 6708 PW Wageningen,The Netherlands
+31 (0) 317 466 269
info@ofinext.com
ofinext.com