Item 1 of 3 Cannabis buds used to extract medicinal CBD oil are placed in a beaker as Kiara Cardoso, founder of DNA Solucoes em Biotecnologia, works, in Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil, February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kira Duarte/File Photo
SAO PAULO, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Brazilian agricultural research agency Embrapa has received the greenlight from health agency Anvisa to research the cannabis plant, a landmark move that puts farming powerhouse Brazil a step closer towards authorizing its cultivation.
In an interview on Friday, Embrapa researcher Daniela Bittencourt welcomed Anvisa’s decision this week, which gives the agency unprecedented permission to build its first-ever cannabis seed bank and develop projects to genetically improve the plant for various applications.
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Embrapa will also research hemp used to produce fibers, Bittencourt said.
“This is only the beginning,” Bittencourt said by telephone from Brasilia. “Our plan is to carry out research for 12 years but it may possibly go on forever, like what happens with soy and corn.”
Similar research efforts from Embrapa since the 1970s opened up vast regions of Brazil for large-scale soybean farming, kicking off a significant increase in the country’s output of the oilseed to make it the world’s largest producer and exporter.
An initial 13 million reais ($2.41 million) in public funding will imminently be released to fund Embrapa’s cannabis research, Bittencourt said, adding the agency is open to studying the plant in partnership with the private sector.
In the decision authorizing Embrapa’s cannabis research, Anvisa said it is developing rules for growing cannabis “for medicinal and scientific purposes.”
($1 = 5.3926 reais)
(This story has been corrected to say that Embrapa applied for authorization to conduct cannabis research in September 2024, not February 2024, in paragraph 6)
Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Richard Chang
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