Agriculture
ARC researcher excited about potential of hemp─── SABRINA DEAN 15:57 Thu, 27 Aug 2015
Bloemfontein - The nutritional benefit of hemp seed oil is just one of several applications that researchers into the uses of industrial hemp are excited about.
The Agricultural Research Council’s (ARC) Institute for Industrial Crops has been conducting trials with the hemp plant, which is part of the Cannabis family, for about 20 years.
Commenting on the major uses of the crop, researcher Ntjapa Lebaka says hemp seed is very nutritious and its protein contains all 20 amino acids, including the nine essential amino acids:
'Ntjapa Lebaka'
He says the ARC’s work has resulted in the development of two very promising experimental fibre lines which would be suited to yet another of the crop’s potential uses, namely the production of fibres for textiles, bio-composites, pulp and paper-making.
It is currently illegal to grow the crop in South Africa except for research purposes, but hopes are that legislation will be reviewed to open the door to commercial hemp production.
Sabrina Dean/OFM News
'Ntjapa Lebaka' :
