Industrial hemp

Places specialising in the knowledge or production of industrial hemp (solid dots) and potential, randomly located areas of industrial hemp cultivation within the Karlsruhe bioregion (dotted circles with question marks). During the ‘On tradition and transition’ education programme, students visited two locations: producer BAFA Neu and ropemaker Joachim Dittus. Because hemp cultivation is subject to strict confidentiality regulations, exact field locations are not publicly disclosed and could therefore not be visited. Although the approximate number of cultivation sites within the bioregion can be estimated from agricultural statistics, their precise positions remain unknown and are represented here as randomised locations.

In 2024, a total of around 7,116 hectares of industrial hemp were cultivated on 623 farms in Germany. In Baden-Württemberg, 299 hectares were cultivated across 68 farms. However, no specific data is available for individual cities or districts, such as Karlsruhe. Nevertheless, it is likely that some of this land is located in the Upper Rhine region, given that the climatic conditions there are particularly conducive to hemp cultivation. Nevertheless, it is difficult to create an accurate map of the regional distribution of hemp. Cultivation areas are only recorded statistically at the state or federal level and are not published on a small scale, and there is no need for detailed documentation. Unlike invasive species, wild hemp has no harmful impact on ecosystems, does not displace native plant species, and does not spread in a problematic manner. Therefore, isolated, randomly occurring plants are irrelevant to both agriculture and biodiversity and are not included in official statistics.