Industrial hemp: Green industry

A single acre of this plant produces the same amount of cellulose fibre, used in papermaking, as 4.1 acres of trees!

Mention the word ‘cannabis’ and eyebrows undoubtedly rise, as ignorance and misinformation promptly come in to play. The fact, however, is that one particular species of cannabis could, if given the chance, be both an economic and a desperately needed environmental ‘knight in shining armour’ for Pakistan.

The plant in question is ‘Cannabis sativa L. subspecies sativa var. sativa’ — otherwise known as ‘industrial hemp’. Three dominant, indigenous species of cannabis grow wild in the country — they flourish right across northern Punjab up in to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and are well-established in green belts in Islamabad. These three species are ‘Cannabis sativa’, ‘Cannabis indica’ and ‘Cannabis ruderalis’ and they, as well as a number of subspecies, contain less than 0.3 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol, as against the two per cent to over 20 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol present in the psychoactive drug that gives recreational cannabis its well-known reputation.

These low tetrahydrocannabinol species, including ‘industrial hemp’, have extremely long fibre or ‘bast’, as it is technically known — this bast can be from three to 15 feet in length. This is amongst the strongest plant fibre known to man and which can be, has and is, in enlightened countries, used in the manufacture of textiles, clothing, shoes, construction materials, biodegradable plastic substitutes, papermaking, bio-fuel and even food. All of these are required locally and are also an increasingly valuable export commodity.



After many years of neglect, the ‘industrial hemp’ industry is now thriving in Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands, Turkey and Ukraine and yet, despite this, no one in Pakistan has taken the initiative to even — as far as the writer can ascertain — examine the feasibility of this potentially lucrative crop.

The cotton-based textile industry here in Pakistan is, according to recent reports, now having to import raw cotton from places such as Kunduz in Afghanistan, to meet its requirements as cotton growers face one problem after another, with the twin evils of climate change and bollworm infestations. These cost a fortune in toxic chemicals to control. Replacing cotton with ‘industrial hemp’, this being highly resistant to adverse weather conditions and unattractive to pests, could go a very long way in maintaining the financial viability of the textile industry. This industry, according to former National Assembly speaker Syed Fakhr Imam, employs 40 per cent of all industrial labour.

Cotton production also takes up a tremendous amount of prime agricultural land which, with an ever-expanding population to feed and lack of food security being a major issue, could be better utilised for food production as ‘industrial hemp’ does not require ‘good’ land. This crop is perfectly happy on ‘marginal’ land and on steep mountain slopes where little else will grow.

The commercial production of ‘industrial hemp’ would also, quite aside from its vast potential in the textile industry, ease pressure on ever-dwindling forest cover as, amongst many other things, a single acre of this plant is capable of producing the exact same amount of cellulose fibre — used in papermaking — as 4.1 acres of trees: a fact which speaks for itself!

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2013.

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