Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Harish Rawat has hinted at legalisation of hemp cultivation in the state, where hemp cultivation already takes place on a small scale at the moment. Handing out licences to farmers for the same may boost the state’s trade prospects.
According to Muni Mehta of the Nanda Devi Handloom and Heritage Centre of Excellence in Kasar Devi near Almora, run by the Panchachuli Women Weavers' Co-operative hemp is like nettle in its tensile strength and grows widely in the region and could be beneficial if people can cultivate it. Cannabis is a plant which grows in different climatic conditions and consists of two main species, Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica. A third kind, Cannabis ruderalis, is not so common. There are hybrids, too, with one of the species being dominant. Cannabis has been used recreationally, industrially and medicinally for centuries in different cultures, including in India.
Uttarakhand has now asked three state research institutions to develop cannabis plants with a THC concentration at 0.3-1.5 per cent for industrial use. At the moment, most of the hemp used in textiles or for food is collected from the wild and not cultivated. The stalk of the hemp plant is used to make rope, apparel, shoes, upholstery, geotextiles and packaging and hemp seed can be used to make oil, flour and animal feed. Hemp cultivation can provide employment to people from the state.
Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO), a three-year-old startup which provides the Nanda Devi centre a link to the market for its products, has joined hands with an institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to carry out research on the 150-odd different seeds it has collected, with an aim to standardise seeds which are low in THC. The company will sell hemp to textile manufacturers and hemp-based foods directly to consumers. Sections 10 and 14 allow for the cultivation of cannabis for industrial, medicinal and scientific purposes, under the government's watch.
According to a ministry of textiles report, the annual potential for hemp-based textiles in the state is at Rs 240 crores. The size of the global hemp market is estimated at $800 million - $1 billion (Rs 5,320 crore - Rs 6,650 crores). China is the biggest producer of hemp products. Other countries where hemp cultivation is legal include Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, France and some states in the US.
Hempfoodsindia.com
