Hemp

An Innovative Feedstock
For The Future

Who We Are

We support the development of hemp industry and bioeconomy

Moravian Hemp s.r.o. is dedicated to boosting the development of hemp industry in the Czech Republic as one of the strategic sectors of the national bioeconomy. We are focused on awareness-building, cooperation, projects and business in the field of cultivation of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa), its further processing and wide use in diversified value chains across a range of industries.

We promote the hemp industry in bioeconomy-focused projects of the Czech National Cluster Association DanuBioValNet, GoDanuBio and Polish-Czech Cluster of Sustainable Development and Health Tourism.

We are the member of the Czech Hemp Cluster.

We cooperate with the Bioeconomy Platform of the Czech Republic.

Look at our first harvest of the hemp registered Finola variety on a two-hectare plot in Palkovice, the district of Frydek-Mistek (2020).

About Bioeconomy

The basic goal of bioeconomy is the gradual replacement of fossil resources

The bioeconomy is an economy that uses renewable biological resources, i.e. all renewable resources of plant or animal origin for the production of food, feed, various bio-based industrial products, energy and related services. Therefore, the bioeconomy includes all primary sectors (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture) and all economic and industrial sectors involved in the processing of biological resources and the production of final products from them.

One of the basic goals of bioeconomy is to gradually replace the so-called fossil resources (i.e. those non-renewable biological resources – especially oil) with renewable biological resources in all areas of their use, such as fuels, petrochemicals, plastics, fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and others.

More about bioeconomy – see the European Bioeconomy Strategy 2018 in a brochure:

A sustainable bioeconomy for Europe: strengthening the connection between economy, society and the environment.

Hemp has the potential to become the strategic renewable biological feedstock for the Czech bioeconomy.

About Hemp

Hemp – The only crop where every part of it can be used

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) is a multifunctional, and therefore a strategic raw material for the development of bioeconomy in the Czech Republic. It is a sustainable, high-yield useful plant, adapted to European climatic conditions, with advantageous agronomic properties and the ability to improve the environment. One of the main advantages of growing hemp is its rapid growth. In one season, specifically in 100 days, it will grow to a height of up to 4 meters. At the same time, it requires a minimum of care, does not know pests, does not need fertilizer or pesticides. In terms of positive effects on the environment, hemp binds more CO₂ than the forest, keeps water in the landscape thanks to long roots, which grow through even dry layers of soil. It can therefore also be used to combat drought. In addition, by ploughing the roots and part of the stem after harvest back into the soil, it is enriched. A number of studies have shown the remediation ability of hemp even in industrially contaminated soils.

Hemp is characterized by a wide range of uses. This potential has not yet been fully activated in favour of a more dynamic development of the bioeconomy in the Czech Republic. 97 % of the plant can be used for processing purposes – woody part and fibers from the stem, straw, leaves, flowers and seeds. The possibilities of processing the stems are various – the wood part absorbs moisture, it is used for the production of insulation panels in the construction industry, also fuel briquettes are produced from it. The fibrous part can be used for the production of paper, ropes, clothing and footwear.

Historically, hemp was used for the production of ropes and textiles. In the last 10 years, hemp has been used for construction (concrete), facade and insulation materials, which have ideal technical properties – water repellence and the ability of acoustic and thermal insulation. Hemp biomass is also a source for energy. Pellets made from it have the same calorific value as brown coal, but without negative environmental impacts. Worldwide, hemp is used in the automotive industry for moulded parts and nonwovens, making up 15 % of car production material. The use of hemp in so-called green composites in the aviation industry is also on the rise. In addition, hemp can be used in a number of other fields – paper production, bioplastics, packaging, food and last but not least pharmacy and cosmetics, where hemp is experiencing a real boom. It appears in the products of many Czech cosmetics companies, but also in world brands, such as Garnier-L’Oréal.

When growing industrial hemp, we fully respect the valid legislative regulations announced by the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic.

About Us

Martin Spetla

CEO, Project Consultant

After graduating from the University of Economics in Prague (1987), Martin Spetla worked in various positions in commercial companies and since 2001 he has been doing business as a self-employed person in the field of economic consulting. In 2014, he became the Executive Director of PRODO-SERVIS, s.r.o. consulting company.

Martin specializes in the preparation of applications for subsidies and project administration under the EU Structural Funds Operational Programs of the Environment, Enterprise and Innovation, Human Resources and Employment and the Integrated Operational Program. He cooperates with the private sector on development projects, including the preparation and implementation of investment incentives.

Since 2004, Martin has been involved in mapping and facilitating the establishment of cluster organisations in the Moravian-Silesian, Olomouc and Zlin regions of the Czech Republic. In 2005 – 2006, he was at the birth of the Moravian-Silesian Wood Cluster and also the Moravian-Silesian Automotive Cluster, which are among the most successful cluster organisations in Czechia. From 2013 to 2014, he worked as a manager in the SINEC cluster (Cluster of Social Innovation and Enterprises).

After changing the focus on bioeconomy and specifically the hemp industry, the company PRODO-SERVIS s.r.o, was renamed Moravian Hemp s.r.o. in March 2020, where he continues to work as CEO.

Pavla Bruskova

Partner, Consultant for clusters, bioeconomy and hemp industry

Pavla Bruskova is a graduate of the Faculty of Education in Ostrava, postgraduate studies in information science at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University in Prague, doctoral studies at Palacký University in Olomouc and Master studies in restructuring of industry and reconversion of regions at VSB-Technical University of Ostrava and Ecole des Mines Nancy, France (1996 – 97).

After twenty years in the Ostrava-Karvina Coal Mines company in the field of international cooperation and restructuring, Pavla has applied her experience and knowledge since 1999 as an independent consultant. In the years 2001 – 2005, she worked in the Union for the Development of the Moravian-Silesian Region as a Deputy CEO. In 2002, she was a member of the expert team for verifying the feasibility of cluster concept in the Moravian-Silesian Region under the leadership of the CzechInvest state agency. In the following years, she participated in the development of clusters in the Czech Republic. As the CEO of the Agency for Regional Development in Ostrava (2005 – 2010), she founded the National Cluster Association (NCA) in 2008 and was its President in 2010 – 2019.

Since 2017, Pavla has been working on the topic of bioeconomy both in the DanuBioValNet and GoDanuBio projects implemented by the NCA as a Czech partner, and as a deputy of the NCA in the Bioeconomy Platform of the Czech Republic, member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Bioeconomy in the South Bohemian Region and member of the Innovation Board of the BIOEAST HUB CZ. Since March 2020, she has been a partner in the Moravian Hemp s.r.o. company focusing on the development of the hemp industry in the Czech Republic as a strategic branch of bioeconomy.