An international group of hemp associations started with fanfare two years ago is forging ahead despite attrition among candidate organizations that has left just eight members standing.
The Federation of International Hemp Organizations (FIHO) was announced in 2021 as more than 20 hemp associations from around the world got together to form a working group. Since that time, however, more than half never took up full membership, primarily due to their inability to pay FIHO fees, which range from $2,000 up to $16,000.
As a result, the Federation is left with no members in the major potential markets of Latin America, China, and India, and leading U.S. organizations the Hemp Industries Association and the National Hemp Association (NHA) also eschewed memberships.
Financing is challenge
“I went into it with good intentions but at the end I was very disappointed. It was quite clear from the get-go that there are only four organizations around the world that have money to contribute to hiring a consultant,” said NHA Chairman Jeff Whaling.
Yet FIHO wanted to find ways to bring other groups in, Whaling said. That led to differences of opinion when it came time to establish a permanent structure as some organizations represented on the board were not dues paying, according to Whaling.
Andrew Bish, President of the U.S.-based Hemp Feed Coalition (HFC), said his organization couldn’t justify the nearly $10,000 FIHO was asking for membership because HFC needs that money for research.
Decisionmaking questioned
While money appears to be the overriding factor in the membership drainoff, other candidate organizations that drifted away gave additional reasons.
One said he was concerned that rights were not equal when it came to decisionmaking. The president of another regional group said he’d hoped FIHO would be “more democratic.”
To those criticisms, FIHO Vice President Daniel Kruse responded: “There are working groups and there is a board. Decisionmaking comes from taking an active part.”
In what he called a “freely modified historical quote,” Kruse, who is also President of the European Industrial Hemp Association, added: “’Don’t ask what your organization can do for you, ask what you can do for your organization.’ Only then can an association achieve something for its members.”
Despite the defections, and in the face of strong business headwinds over the past five years, FIHO has persevered and is taking on the fundamental challenges that face the hemp industry around the world – “attracting mega equity investment in the industry,” overcoming regulatory hurdles and building market demand, according to Charles Kovess, a director who chairs FIHO’s Policy and Regulation Committee as a representative of the Australian Industrial Hemp Alliance, which he serves as President.
Activities
FIHO was formally established in 2022 to address key issues that affect the industry worldwide, and to interface with relevant international bodies such as the United Nations (UN) Committee on Narcotic Drugs, the World Health Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization.
Over the past year, FIHO has:
- Laid out a position on creating a common language for hemp to ease incorporation of hemp products into global supply chains, aiming to clear up terminology for policymakers, and ultimately reduce associated risks and costs for farmers.
- Joined the United Nations the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction program through which it is working to position hemp as a source of sustainable building materials.
- Called for a moratorium on growing genetically altered hemp outdoors, issuing a long list of concerns regarding environmental impacts, regulatory and trade issues, and health, social and economics.
- Signed a memorandum of understanding with ASTM International to work together on global guidance for the hemp value chain, hoping to push the standards developer to cover the full range of potential hemp applications.
- Issued a position paper on the use of hempseed and hempseed byproducts intended as livestock ingredients, to assist international feed experts and regulatory bodies in conducting feed ingredient assessments.
Who’s in, who’s out
Current members of FIHO are: Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance; European Industrial Hemp Association; Australian Industrial Hemp Alliance (AIHA); National Industrial Hemp Council (USA); Kentucky Hemp Association (USA); Texas Hemp Growers Association (USA); WAFBA (USA) Tshwane University of Technology (South Africa).
U.S. groups that initially engaged but did not become members include: Hemp Industries Association; National Hemp Association; Hemp Feed Coalition; American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp; Oregon Hemp Association; Colorado Hemp Advisory Committee.
Other groups that showed interest but eventually declined to join are: China Hemp Association; China Hemp Alliance; Mongolian Hemp Association; Hokkaido Industrial Hemp Association(Japan); Indian Industrial Hemp Association; Uttarakhand Hemp Association (India); Chamber of Industrial Hemp of Paraguay; Friends of Hemp (South Africa).
The Latin American Industrial Hemp Association was a founding member of FIHO, and paid dues for one year, but dropped out in the second year because it could not justify the costs, according to Lorenzo da Silva, President.
