Bob Comish has been trying for the past three and a half years to get a licence to grow hemp in the Isle of Man, despite the issue having gone out to public consultation and being resoundingly approved.

Here he expresses his frustration that UK, Jersey and Guernsey are all getting ahead of us in growing this highly-versatile crop which could potentially be a high earner for Manx farmers and the island as a whole.

‘Why, after three and a half years of trying am I still not permitted to grow hemp here?

‘It was over a year and a half ago that I met with the Chief Minister and he agreed on the growing of hemp in the Isle of Man.

‘It has since been agreed by the Council of Ministers and been approved by Tynwald.

‘I have been actively campaigning, have been to endless meetings and yet we are no further

on. Another year has been missed and I am still waiting for the Department of Enterprise to finalise the issuing of licences. I cannot understand why they are dragging their feet.

‘I have been working very closely with Jamie Bartley from Unyte Hemp in the UK: they are into their second year of testing and are now growing 1,700 acres.

‘Jersey and Guernsey are ahead of us and have already planted.

‘This year I pushed for a Test Crop Licence and yet again it seems to have been put on hold.

Whoever is stopping this can surely have no idea of the potential benefits to the Isle of Man.

An overwhelming 97 per cent of the public supported the introduction of a regulatory framework to cover industrial hemp production.

‘This could and should now be being produced in the Isle of Man and still we hear nothing to enable this to happen.

‘This is a crop of the future, a crop which will help farming. It produces medicines, biodegradable building material plastics, cleans the soil and produces nutrients and cleans carbon from the atmosphere. It can be the Green Industrial Revolution.

Give us the go-ahead and farmers will grow hemp, creating jobs and a better environment

and also helping the Manx economy.

‘To say I am disappointed is a serious understatement. It is not what one would hope for in

the Department which should surely be interested in improving the economy of our island.

‘I am not the only farmer hoping to grow this crop which could potentially be a game-changer

for Manx agriculture: there are others waiting who are just as frustrated as I am.’