On July 13 at a press conference, the President of the Republic, Rodrigo Cháves, urged small rice producers to change their crops for hemp.
During the Governing Council’s weekly meeting, the president announced a bill that aims to subsidize rice producers who are affected by the reduction of taxes on imported grain.
The measures are part of what the presidency calls “The Rice Route This is focused, according to the president, to reduce the prices to the final consumer of the grain.
These are two specific actions that are carried out. The first is an elimination of the pricing scheme that consumers pay to undercut producers. The second is a significant decrease in two import tariffs.
One of these taxes is the one that has the rice in pellets, it seeks to reduce from 36% to 4.5%. The other is to lower the tariff on piled (ready-to-eat) grain from 36% to 5%.
“For the one who planted rice in good faith, honestly, can adapt to the changes . The hemp regulation is coming, that is very profitable and can replace rice, whoever wants to stay in rice, could have some help ” Presidentre Chaves said.
He also said that with this bill those who will benefit are small and medium producers. He also placed special emphasis on the opportunity that opens up with hemp cultivation for these farmers.
These statements go in line with those he expressed on July 6:
“The CBD market is going to be worth in 2 or 3 years almost 60 billion dollars a year and here we complicate ourselves; that if we give a license, that if how much it costs. A license to plant corn? Hemp is not a psychotropic plant”, the president said.
in Costa Rica. 
