Savills reveals its journey from Mayfair mansions to marijuana
The company's rural consultancy arm is to help UK farmers take advantage of the growing interest in medicinal cannabis farming.
We checked, this is not April Fool’s Day.
First we see cannabis farming being showcased on BBC’s Sunday evening programme, Countryfile, Sunday 16th February, today we hear about Savills assisting farmers in Cambridgeshire to grow the controversial crop.
The Eastern Daily Press reported that the new joint project called Crop17 will support farmers in learning how to select the best land, source equipment and, most interestingly, perhaps, how they can ‘navigate the legal minefield of the Class B drug.’
Hemp cultivation
The news report continued saying, Kit Papworth, a director of a farm contracting business, LF Papworth, based at Felmingham, near North Walsham, has been invited to attend a Savills conference in London on hemp cultivation in the UK. He said, “The hemp and CBD (Cannabidol) oil markets have a huge potential, for both the oil and the biomass produced by the plant, which can be used in industry, building materials and for sequestering carbon.
“Farming in a post-Brexit world means we have to look closely at all of the opportunities and this is just one of many that we are considering.”
Another report on ITV added that Savills has “joined forces with cannabis consultancy Hanway Associates and greenhouse builder CambridgeHOK.”
Alex Bragg (left), a director at Savills, explained: “The UK agriculture sector is embarking upon a period of unprecedented change. A phasing out of subsidies, a new dawn for trade, adapting to meet climate change targets and a huge growth in agtech presents the industry with huge challenges and opportunities.
“For the forward thinking and innovative farmer and grower adapting into new markets is a key priority. This turnkey solution is the type of innovation we expect to see more of within UK agriculture.”
BDS Analytics has forecast that the worldwide legal cannabis industry generated revenues in the region of £11.5 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to around £35 billion by 2024.
Read more about cannabis and property.
