Economic, ecological and social perspectives of industrial hemp cultivation in Germany: A qualitative analysis.

IF 8 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Journal of Environmental Management Pub Date : 2025-08-01 Epub Date: 2025-06-13 DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126117

Marius Michels, Adrian Brinkmann, Oliver Mußhoff

{"title":"Economic, ecological and social perspectives of industrial hemp cultivation in Germany: A qualitative analysis.","authors":"Marius Michels, Adrian Brinkmann, Oliver Mußhoff","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126117","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hemp cultivation is experiencing a resurgence in Europe, with the European Commission identifying it as a strategic crop for achieving Green Deal objectives. This study investigates opportunities and challenges of hemp cultivation from German farmers' perspectives across all three sustainability pillars. We conducted qualitative interviews with 14 agricultural enterprises across northern Germany in 2024, analyzing data through deductive category formation. Economic findings reveal opportunities through diversified revenue streams and reduced input costs, though scale requirements and market uncertainties present challenges. Ecologically, farmers confirm hemp's benefits for soil health and reduced chemical inputs, while noting specific management requirements for water and soil conditions. Social acceptance is improving when hemp is effectively distinguished from the drug cannabis, though regulations and conservative attitudes remain barriers for adoption. Success in hemp cultivation requires establishing stable market structures, developing region-specific management practices, and implementing effective knowledge transfer programs. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of European farmers' experiences with hemp cultivation and offers practical insights for policymakers, farmers, and industry stakeholders while connecting farmer perspectives with European Green Deal objectives.</p>","PeriodicalId":356,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Management","volume":"389 ","pages":"126117"},"PeriodicalIF":8.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Management","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126117","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/6/13 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Hemp cultivation is experiencing a resurgence in Europe, with the European Commission identifying it as a strategic crop for achieving Green Deal objectives. This study investigates opportunities and challenges of hemp cultivation from German farmers' perspectives across all three sustainability pillars. We conducted qualitative interviews with 14 agricultural enterprises across northern Germany in 2024, analyzing data through deductive category formation. Economic findings reveal opportunities through diversified revenue streams and reduced input costs, though scale requirements and market uncertainties present challenges. Ecologically, farmers confirm hemp's benefits for soil health and reduced chemical inputs, while noting specific management requirements for water and soil conditions. Social acceptance is improving when hemp is effectively distinguished from the drug cannabis, though regulations and conservative attitudes remain barriers for adoption. Success in hemp cultivation requires establishing stable market structures, developing region-specific management practices, and implementing effective knowledge transfer programs. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of European farmers' experiences with hemp cultivation and offers practical insights for policymakers, farmers, and industry stakeholders while connecting farmer perspectives with European Green Deal objectives.

查看原文本刊更多论文

德国工业大麻种植的经济、生态和社会视角：定性分析。

大麻种植正在欧洲经历复苏，欧盟委员会将其确定为实现绿色协议目标的战略作物。本研究调查的机会和挑战，从德国农民的角度横跨所有三个可持续发展的支柱大麻种植。我们在2024年对德国北部的14家农业企业进行了定性访谈，通过演绎类别形成分析数据。尽管规模要求和市场不确定性带来了挑战，但经济调查结果显示，多元化的收入流和降低的投入成本带来了机遇。在生态方面，农民确认大麻对土壤健康和减少化学投入的好处，同时注意到对水和土壤条件的具体管理要求。当大麻与毒品大麻有效区分开来时，社会的接受程度正在提高，尽管法规和保守的态度仍然是采用大麻的障碍。大麻种植的成功需要建立稳定的市场结构，发展特定区域的管理实践，并实施有效的知识转移计划。本研究首次全面分析了欧洲农民种植大麻的经验，并为政策制定者、农民和行业利益相关者提供了实用的见解，同时将农民的观点与欧洲绿色协议的目标联系起来。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of Environmental Management 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

13.70

自引率

5.70%

发文量

2477

审稿时长

84 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Environmental Management is a journal for the publication of peer reviewed, original research for all aspects of management and the managed use of the environment, both natural and man-made.Critical review articles are also welcome; submission of these is strongly encouraged.