A rural Marlborough hemp farm has achieved an organic certified status. Puro, which began planting in December 2020, commercially cultivates cannabis for medical use in Kēkerengū, north of Kaikōura. BioGro, New Zealand’s largest certifier for organic produce, granted the organic status after working with Puro for the past two years. The achievement is a first for any medical cannabis company in Australasia.
Puro quality and compliance manager Wendy Tillman said Puro’s commitment to growing organically had not been without its challenges. “We are a very new industry here in New Zealand and one of very few organic growers worldwide,” Tillman said, “so we’ve had to break new ground in terms of finding effective and appropriate products and processes that do the job while fitting our organic approach.
“This has included exploring how organic fertilizers can help provide the nutrients our plants need and introducing specific predator species on-site to control the pests that threaten our plants, and so, reducing the need to use pesticides.”
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