Business South June 2021

94 | INDUSTRY NZ Hemp Industries Association NZ hemp industry growing rapidly Land committed to growing industrial hemp in New Zealand has increased from 250ha to 336ha in the last four years. Below, hemp seed oil is just one of the popular products now being produced. P H : 0 2 7 3 3 9 2 9 7 3 WWW . K O A R C H I T E C T U R E . C O . N Z I N C L U D I N G H E M P C R E T E B U I L D I N G S H emp is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing new industries. Interest in the plant and its many applications has seen a steep rise in licenced growers from just 65 four years ago to 260 in the 2019/20 grow- ing season, while land committed to industrial hemp has increased from 250 hectares to 1336 hectares over the same period. Every part of the plant can be used com- mercially, with many useful applications across food, fibre and health. Hemp is a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant species, but unlike marijuana it has no significant amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the intoxicating cannabinoid in mari- juana. “ People often confuse hemp with marijua- na,” observes Richard Barge, Chairperson/ Treasurer of the NZ Hemp Industries Associa- tion (NZHIA). “Industrial hemp is in fact a regulated crop that is low in THC and is not usable as a narcotic drug.” New Zealand’s hemp industry came togeth- er in person last month at the iHemp Summit and Expo 2021 to network, plan and share the industry’s future vision. “We had a very exciting line-up of speakers and presenters.” Richard says much of the rapid growth in this industry came after a 2018 law change allowing access to hemp seed – high in nutri- tional value - as a human food. “Most of our members are growing seed for human food oil, hemp hearts and protein powder. “People use hemp seed oil as a drizzle on salads or take it as a food supplement. Hemp hearts are used in baking or in granola - it’s a yummy way of eating hemp.” Hemp fibre also has a promising future. New Zealand Natural Fibres (NZNF), launched just last year, aims to be a pioneer in the global natural fibres revolution by making use of renewable New Zealand grown hemp and wool. The company is jointly owned by Carrfields Primary Wool (CP Wool) and Hemp NZ. T T Kim Newth Based in Burnside in Christchurch, the com- pany has installed a leading-edge natural fibre processing facility. “Christchurch now has the country’s first commercial hemp fibre processing plant. “It is a very exciting development that will showcase how hemp can work in conjunction with other primary producers.” Among the possible product applications being explored by NZNF are wool and hemp blends for use in soft flooring; and blending hemp with merino fibre to produce yarn for use in outdoor active wear. Non-woven products are also being developed and tested, including a natural hemp-based material that could replace single-use plastic food packaging, as well as a hemp-based replacement for the permeable synthetic ‘geotextile’ fabric used to stabilise soil in infrastructure works. Hemp also has applications in construction. Shorter fibres – known as hemp hurds - can be mixed with lime to form an environmental- ly friendly building material called hempcrete. One of the speakers at the iHemp Sum- mit and Expo 2021 was Jo Say, of the Hemp Photos: Hemp Connect Building Association of New Zealand, which is anticipating a significant increase in the num - ber of hemp homes and commercial buildings being built here. Meanwhile, Richard says ongoing chal- lenges for the industry mostly relate to New Zealand’s regulations on medicines and drugs and how these are being interpreted.