Hemp production: Let’s start the ball rolling here
This week, we shall continue our discussion on what crops Batswana can grow to reduce our food import bill and create jobs. And we will look at other less well- known crops which could also be introduced to fill gaps in the market.
Date palms produce sweet succulent, tasty fruits that are much in demand in European countries and North America. They are well adapted to dry desert regions such as the Sahara where rainfall is negligible and summer temperatures can approach 500C. Furthermore, date palms are tolerant of saline conditions. Most date producers, such as Egypt Saudi Arabia and Algeria are in the northern hemisphere where dates are harvested during October and November. Since Botswana lies in the southern hemisphere, we would harvest dates in April and May at a time when the supply of dates to European markets is very low. Hence our dates could easily command high prices there! The largest date farm in the southern hemisphere occurs in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Here Karsten Farms, near the Orange river, has more than 28 000 date palms. So, it’s time for Botswana farmers to make a date with these luscious fruits!
And the Agricultural Research Department at Sebele can play a pivotal role in increasing yields and productivity and so make farming more profitable and attractive to young graduates.
Cannabis, or hemp, might also be suitable for cultivation in Botswana. And there is a great worldwide demand for this crop, especially in the European Union ( EU) and the USA. Many people may know it as a recreational drug, marijuana or hashish; and for this reason, its cultivation is illegal in most countries in the world. However, it can be used for medicinal purposes and, therefore, some countries have now made the cultivation of cannabis legal. Evidence has indicated that cannabis can reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy ( a type of cancer treatment), improve appetite in people with HIV/ AIDS, and reduce chronic pain and muscle spasms. However, the growing of medical cannabis is, for obvious reasons, closely monitored and regulated and both the supplier and receiver of cannabis products need to be in possession of all the required licenses. Cannabis producers can add value to their product by extracting the oil from the plants using cheap and effective equipment. Once extracted, the oil can then be turned into a multitude of products such as creams and capsules. And other products manufactured from hemp include ropes, plastics, varnishes, paper, energy drinks and textiles amongst others.
Lesotho has legalised the cultivation of cannabis and has become the first country in Africa to be granted licenses to export medical- grade cannabis to the EU. Recently, Lesotho exported a shipment of certified cannabis weighing 8.5 tonnes to the EU. And according to a recent European Cannabis Report, the value of the European cannabis market is forecast to increase by almost ten times from 403 million Euros in 2012 to 3.8 billion Euros by 2025. The President of the Umbrella for Democratic Change ( UDC), Duma Boko, has also campaigned for the growing of cannabis here in Botswana and it certainly can go some way towards tackling issues such as unemployment and economic diversification, especially in these turbulent times.
It is estimated that a commercial cannabis industry in South Africa has the potential to create at least 25 000 new jobs and the value could amount to about R28 billion ( P22 billion) per annum. A master plan has already been presented to the South African Parliament concerning the viability of developing a cannabis industry in the country. The declaration of hemp as an agricultural crop in South Africa now allows for the growing of the crop and its exportation. This means that growers can now apply for hemp permits. So, let’s start the ball rolling here! But care should be taken when starting up a cannabis operation. Firstly, the crop requires large quantities of water.
Also, farmers should find out what crops are grown on neighbouring farms. Farmers may spray pesticides over their vegetables and fruits and these can be easily carried by the wind and contaminate cannabis plants.
Another crop that could be grown here is safflower which, at present, is mainly grown on the Great Plains of the USA. It is an annual oilseed crop that can be used to produce oil, meal, livestock fodder and birdseed. Also, it can be grown for medicinal purposes: it can lower bad cholesterol, reduce body fat and inflammation, and promote muscle and heart health.
Although this thistle- like plant grows up to about one metre, its taproot can penetrate to depths of up to three metres in deep soils. Hence, safflower is more tolerant to drought than many other oilseed crops and cereals.
Although it grows best in deep, fertile, well- drained soils, it can also thrive in more sandy soils which have a lower water holding capacity. The crop may be planted here in early summer and matures about four weeks after flowering ends.
Most Batswana love their cup of black or rooibos tea. But very few people realise that Botswana can also grow its own tea! In the oases of the Sahara Desert many farmers grow Hibiscus sabdariffa, or karkade – a perennial evergreen shrub, up to one metre tall, which has large finger- like, or digitate, leaves, and reddish- purple flowers ( some Hibiscus species are grown as ornamental plants in Botswana). The purple sepals of the flowers are used to make a deep red herbal tea, also known as karkade, which may be drunk either hot or cold, and without milk. The tea has a cranberrylike flavour and sugar is often added to the beverage. It is very popular in Egypt and the Sudan where wedding celebrations are traditionally toasted with a glass of hibiscus tea. Studies have shown that drinking hibiscus tea may lower blood pressure and it also contains vitamin C.