Hemp, the multifaced wonder plant!
Hemp, the multifaced wonder plant!
What is hemp?
Industrial hemp is technically an erect annual herb, which falls under the botanical class of Cannabis Sativa cultivars which is mostly grown for medical uses. It is a green palmate shaped leaf plant that is mostly confused with marijuana. In simple and not so confusing English, hemp is a cannabis plant that contains less than 0.3 percent of THC-tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound responsible for making people feel “high.” Because hemp contains a lower percentage of this compound, one can consume it in its purest form and not get high. Most confuse it with Marijuana simply because of its physical appearance. Hemp as a plant has countless uses from medical, to industrial and from nutrition to commercial.
According to GoodEarth resources, and Cambridge university researcher Darshil Shah, industrial hemp is the ideal carbon sink as it can absorb more carbon than any commercial crop. Furthermore, hemp fibre is stronger than steel. Unbelievable is it not? Giving you the power of saying “Hemp” the next time someone asks you, “what is stronger than steel?” It is also resistant to tearing and rotting hence most ship sails and ropes were made from it in the good olden days.
Currently, hemp production in is the new thing. Not only because it has been legalised but because of the discovery of its power in terms of the assorted products it can derive. Unfortunately, it is illegal to cultivate hemp in south Africa without a permit issued by the department of health under the medicines control council.
South Africa imports its seeds from other countries and because of this, questions have been raised, is it safe to import these seeds? Considering that they were not developed and assessed against RSA climate and weather condition.
Institutions like the Agricultural Research Council-ARC have been conducting research for countless years on the production of hemp in South Africa. So far, this research has yielded to 2 South African hemp cultivars namely SA hemp 1, and SA hemp 2. A typical question after discovering this would be so what is the difference between these two cultivars? Well, according to the ARC, both these cultivars were developed to fit the climate of South Africa and show quite promising results in terms of fibre yields and stem yields. Although these cultivars have not been registered, predictions say that these cultivars will play a vital role in uplifting the commercial production of hemp in South Africa.
It might not be overnight whereby the regulations surrounding the production of industrial hemp are lifted. However, the future is promising. In the past few years, the selling and production of industrial hemp was prohibited mainly because it was categorised as a drug under the Drugs and drug trafficking ACT.
An interesting question you might be asking yourself is, why has south Africa not dived into this market? Simply because of the stigma and misconception linking it closely to marijuana.
Over the past few years, alive with nations have come to show considerable interest around the cannabis plants especially due to their high protein content.
As mentioned before, a fair number of nations use hemp for medical reasons such as improving cognitive functioning, boosting heart health, reducing inflammation, and improving skin conditions amongst bountiful things. Although it is famous for its medical uses, hemp is also a reliable source of livestock feed.
Countries such as Canada and China produce a great amount of hemp as a food commodity and more like soybean than cereal grains.
As per usual, this is the part where I narrate how I was introduced to the topic. Being a competitive and goal orientated individual requires you to constantly ask yourself: what can I do to make myself stand out? especially in cases where there are so many other candidates that want the end price as bad as you. Producing a niche product that would leave the room astonished. Hemp! We thought. It is new to the south African agricultural-crop market.
The instant famous question we got was am I going to get high if I consume any of the hemp produced products? and as the famous saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. I dare you to try Hemp vodka. It might be difficult to locate as it is a niche product in the alcohol market because only spattering producers have attempted and succeeded in producing an alcohol beverage from hemp seeds – especially in the South African context .
DID SOMEONE SAY SMART CLIMATE AGRICULTURE?
Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an integrated approach of preparing the industry for sustainability because of climate change. Meeting the food demand and increasing population under the realties of climate change is a challenge and requires major changes in agricultural production systems. Our level of production is threatened by the existence of abnormal weather, unstable rainfall, and odd temperature patterns. However, the question still remains ‘which agricultural methods can be utilized to adapt to the current times where climate change exists.
Still confused on what I’m talking about? Let’s unpack this together. The planets climate is changing, and this is undeniable. It is therefore not a secret that the world is in crisis, population numbers are increasing by the day and food is ridiculously expensive. All of this may be because of global alarming, climate change and
One would be curious as to how is the environment reacting to these changes brought by climate change and global warming? Well, water is depleting, we constantly have high temperatures and as a result farmers and producers are hit the hardest. I mean it is not difficult to see the linkage between weather and food production. Communities are faced with the job to build resilience and be able to adapt to these changes whilst feeding a growing population without causing damage to the environment.
One does not mention climate smart agriculture without mentioning the word ‘food security’ and ‘climate change’. It goes without saying, these two, are lovebirds and coexist in one union.
When I was first introduced to the word CSA, I was taken. Taken by the combination of the three words. How can one link smart climate to agriculture? What is smart climate? I thought to myself.
I know I’ve heard much more breath taking and exciting words before, but this one really took a hug space of interest in my mind. Weeks went by and it was a matter of time before the word resurfaced again, this time it was during a launch of an agricultural student program that I had attended. I then thought to myself, this is a sign. The Q and A session came, and I saw the chance to ask because personally I found the definition and articles on CSA very confusing because of the complexity of the word.
“Because you touched on climate smart agriculture, can you please explain to me what it is and how it can be implemented during the current times where food security is of alarming importance” I asked. “That’s a good question” she said and as an agricultural student, the inner me leaped for joy because this was proof that I was interested in the right dimensions of my degree.
From her explanation and elaboration, what I grasped is that CSA basically looks at 3 pillars:
Food security- which is increasing our food productivity to meet the rising population numbers
Adaptation- which is climate change resilience of farmers or human societies
and lastly,
Mitigation- achieving a reduction in the level of greenhouse emissions
By utilizing CSA food security can be achieved in the sense that it will aid farmers to produce more with less whilst preserving and protecting the environment for future generations. It will assist markets; industries and the sector realize the effectiveness of CSA in mitigating food insecurity.
Is climate smart agriculture the new thing? I think so.
Banelise Mhlangu
“I am Banelise Mhlangu an Agricultural Economist by qualification and a Project Administrator by job title for the Rural development and social investments division at Agri-SA Enterprises.
Between juggling both school and work, I find myself trapped in reading, witing and singing along my favourite jams. The thought of having first-hand conversations and contact with various farmers across South Africa excites me to the fullest!
I always say, had I not been an Economist, I would have turned out to be a famous soccer player or a writer amongst many other things. My academic interests include policy development, applied economics, rural development and sustainability. If I were to list them all, I would need just above 750 words.
One of my current favourite quotes is: While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary”.
