AgriFutures Australia Emerging Industries Senior Manager, Tom McCue said the development of a dedicated RD&E plan for the industrial hemp industry is anticipated to highlight gaps and opportunities to help the industry reach $10 million gross value production per annum within five years.
“If you look at hemp as a whole, the range of opportunities has exploded in the past couple of years,” said Tom.
“Hemp is such a diverse crop. It has the potential to grow across Australia, it can grow very quickly, and it has a wide range of uses – food, fibre and industrial products. “
The Australian Industrial Hemp Association (AIHA) is preparing the plan and project manager Robert Bell has contacted more than 500 organisations here and around the world in an effort to gather diverse views and information for the plan.
“A few years ago, I encountered some incredible people involved in the hemp industry with great ideas for this amazing plant,” said Robert.
“We are gathering a lot of people’s thoughts and making sure they are all included so that at the end of the day we have a fair assessment of what people want to see included as the industry develops.”
Robert said the RD&E plan is initially looking at nine developmental areas for the industry. Some of the activity in these early stages of industry development is focused on using the seed for human food, be it as hemp seed, hemp flour or hemp oil.
“That’s the first step in building the industry and that’s already happening,” said Robert.
“Hemp is as good as carbon fibre but has multidirectional strength. It can be used in anything – buildings, cars, kayaks, surfboards, guitars and amplifiers. BMW already has 23kg of hemp in some of their cars, and it’s not just in the trimmings, it’s in the panels.
“Then from the stalks you can use the hurd in building – hempcrete. That’s growing annually.
“Hemp is a fantastic product and you can use the whole plant, even the roots. It’s so sustainable and once you know how to grow it, it’s relatively easy. The root system is very good for the soil.
“From planting seed to harvest is approximately 90 days. If we plant it correctly in Australia and use the right varieties, we can supply the world 365 days a year,” said Robert.
