(Yicai Global) Jan. 10 -- Dutch seed researcher Fytagoras and the Jilin Academy of Agriculture Science plan to set up a joint venture to develop technology related to industrial hemp.

The research will focus on the selection and cultivation of seeds, planting and the extraction of active ingredients, Fytagoras' Jilin-based parent Zixin Pharmaceutical Industrial said in a statement today. Each partner will take a 50 percent stake in the new company.

China grows more than half of the world's industrial hemp, which is cannabis with less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana. It is mainly used in medicine, healthcare and agriculture, according to public information, and China holds several patents covering related technology.

Zixin bought Fytagoras for EUR216,000 (USD249,000) in August 2016. The Leiden-based firm is a research partner of the Netherlands' Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport charged with quality control of medicinal cannabis and biological and pharmaceutical activities.

Fytagoras and the academy also plan to research the use of hemp in health foods, and hope to develop new consumer products -- mostly drinks like coffee and wine -- using cannabidiol as an active ingredient. They will also look at making solid foods using juice extracted from cannabis leaves.

Editor: James Boynton