SA behind in industrial hemp race
Thousands of jobs could be created Understanding the hemp plant and its uses
IF SOUTH African hemp pioneer Tony Budden had his way, nonnarcotic dagga plants would be growing all over the place.
“It really is a miracle plant,” the 42-year-old explained.
Used in everything from high-fashion clothing to healing oils, nutrition for the poor and the construction of low-cost “hempcrete” houses, Budden said relaxing the law to allow the cultivation of industrial hemp would create thousands of jobs.
“On average, one hectare of industrial hemp creates two jobs.”
Although the state has been involved in industrial hemp “trials” at Qamata in the former Transkei and other areas for 20 years the idea has not taken root and South Africa now lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to growing the plant commercially.
“South Africa and Canada both started doing industrial hemp trials at the same time and they are now growing 50 000 ha and we have nothing.
“If we had started at the same time, we would have created 100 000 jobs by now.”
According to Budden, South Africa still has a chance to catch up with the rest of the world due to perfect climatic conditions to grow the plant.
“I have been to Qamata and met the madalas [elders] and they say that after 20 years of research in the area, they don’t think they will be alive when industrial hemp-growing finally happens.”
After years of campaigning through Cape Town-based Hemporium – who sell hemp products – to legally grow industrial grade plants, Budden is hoping next year’s high court challenge by Jules Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke will result in legislative changes.
Cape Town-based Budden is one of several international experts who will testify in the “trial of the plant” court challenge.
“We have been trying for years to grow industrial hemp and the government still cannot tell us when we can start doing it commercially.
“Our biggest hope at the moment is the court case.”
Also involved in hemp trials in Malawi, Budden has built two lowcost houses and several outbuildings in Cape Town using hempcrete.
According to Budden, stalk byproduct – after processing the hemp for clothing fibres and other products – is mixed with lime to create high-strength hempcrete, which is poured into shutter boards to create walls.
Besides being much cheaper than bricks and other traditional building materials, hempcrete also ticks all the environmental boxes as it comes with a zero carbon emission rating.
“Industrial hemp can be used in everything from fibre for insulation, clothing, food nutrition and even healing oils.
HEMP is a commonly used term for high growing industrial varieties of the cannabis (dagga) plant and have no narcotic value.
According to Wikipedia, hemp must not be confused with dagga which is low growing and has higher concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids.
There are two types of cannabis sativa sub species – one narcotic and other not.
The sativa sub species is grown for industrial use while the indica version is grown for recreational and medicinal purposes.
The major difference between the two is the appearance of the plants sub species and the amount of THC.
Industrial hemp contains below 0.3% THC while dagga for smoking ranges from 2% to over 20%.
Hemp is one of the earliest domesticated plants known to man and has been cultivated by many civilisations for over 12 000 years.
Hemp fibre imprints have been found by archaeologists on Chinese pottery dating millennium BC.
It was used to make clothes, shoes, ropes and early forms of paper. It later spread around the world.
It was widely cultivated in America from the 1600s.
US president George Washington pushed for the growing of more hemp and even grew it as a cash crop himself.
The hemp industry in America started dying out from 1937 when government introduced the
back
to
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fifth marijuana tax act.
Despite the massive decline, hemp was used extensively by the US during World War 2 to make uniforms, canvas and rope.
In the early 1940s production of hemp fibre ranged from 250 000 to 350 000 metric tonnes and Russia was the biggest producer.
Although not banned in Europe by the 1930s, commercial cultivation stopped by then due to increasing demand for artificial fibres and hemp production dropped massively. — Source: Wikipedia