Cannabis is a type of annual plant that is completely eco-friendly. whose height is 3 to 18 feet, whose stem is very hard and fibrous, and whose leaves are free of 4–8 segments. An element called cannabinoid is found in its leaves, due to which the leaves are sticky.
This cannabis plant also contains cannabis seeds, which are round and light brown in color. The taste of these seeds is nutty and delicious. These seeds are full of elements like protein, antioxidants, and fiber, which is of great importance in itself.
The stem of hemp plants is very fibrous and strong. Its fibre is much stronger than other types of fiber; it is a versatile fibre that is very useful for making cloth and other fibrous materials. Natural colours can be white, brown, black, and green.
Cannabis is seen in the wrong way in society, and it is used in large quantities as an intoxicant. There is a need for awareness and adequate policies at the industrial level in society so that the economic situation can be strengthened
It is believed that cannabis was first cultivated in Central Asia around 6500 BC, after which cannabis was also cultivated in China, and cannabis became the world’s largest agricultural crop in the 19th century. Many famous books, Bibles, and other periodical articles and paintings find mention during this period.
The first crop in North America was grown by a French botanist in Nova Scotia in 1966. Thomas Jefferson drafted the United States Declaration of Independence on hemp paper and also grew hemp himself. Two centuries later, the United States and Canada banned its cultivation in 1937. The embargo was then lifted in 1998, after World War II.
Colonization in India completely lost the long-lasting importance of cannabis with the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the invention of the steam engine in the late 18th century. Engines were now used to propel merchant ships, with the result that rope lost its long-needed product and the rope industry lost its ground as an important economic occupation. Other substitutes, such as cotton, replaced traditional rags even though they were not as strong. However, later, hemp ropes slowly started making people feel the demand for them.
Hemp was also brought to New England by the Puritans in 1645 as a fibre source (spinning and weaving). But no one gave in, and the crop grew so well that a commercial carding industry developed, and cultivation spread to Virginia and Kentucky in 1775.
The high demand for sailcloth and cardage by the US Navy led to a flourishing hemp industry in Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois between 1840 and 1860. Domestic hemp production was displaced by cotton production in the south due to the increase in production and the import of cheap jute.
In today’s time, as a result of increasing environmental concern, the importance of cannabis cultivation can be seen, so that from food to fibre and other environmental and economic benefits can be seen, research is being done somewhere, and new products are being developed. There are other useful uses of hemp apart from food, such as paper, textiles, plastics, beauty ingredients, apparel, paints, biofuels, etc.
Cannabis has a long and continuous history in India. It has lived on for thousands of years in stories of gods and warriors and continues to exist today as a belief in religious ceremonies and village mohallas. Apart from this, cannabis also plays an important role as a medicine in that it is used to cure constipation, arthritis, malaria, etc.
Chu-ma was classified as one of the best elixirs of immortality when it was approved by the famous Chinese Emperor Shen-Tug in 2300 BC. Ayurvedic physicians commonly use cannabis for dozens of diseases and disorders related to epilepsy, arthritis, fever, jaundice, and leprosy.
In Asia, animal diseases were treated with the help of cannabis. It is commonly fed to elephants and bulls to reduce their fatigue and stay alive. and has been used extensively in Asia for animal diseases. Cannabis leaves are fed to cattle; this is done to increase lactation.
The cultivation of cannabis can be done well without pesticides and fertilizers, so we can divide it into 3 varieties, or groups.
1. The varieties grown mainly for sage are symbolized by the longer stem and the shorter branch, which is also known as hemp.
2. A cultivar is grown for the seeds that are used to extract hemp oil.
3-Varieties grown for medicinal or recreational uses.
Hemp is extremely important in the business world. It has good length and strength fibers, and its cultivation can be adapted to all temperatures and all soils and waters. As a Sanjeevani herb in the agriculture sector, hemp cultivation can thus be financially beneficial to farmers.
Is growing hemp a profitable business?
Hemp is used for a variety of commercial and industrial products, including rope, clothing, and hemp oil, which is solidified from the seed and used in the manufacture of oil-based paints, as a moisturising agent in creams, and in plastics. Hemp is extremely important in the business world. It has good length and strength fibres, and its cultivation can be adapted to all temperatures and all soils and waters. As a Sanjeevani herb in the agriculture sector, hemp cultivation can thus be financially beneficial to farmers.
India is considered to be one of the best places for cannabis (Hemp), but when it comes to differentiating between cannabis (Hemp) and marijuana (Dried Hemp), many people get confused. The two primary classifications are the plants of the cannabis family, Indica and cannabis sativa. So, Hemp can be considered a member of the indica or sativa family.
Is hemp or cannabis better?
The Uttarakhand government has taken the initiative to re-formulate its industrial policy and for the first time has issued a license to cultivate cannabis, which means that now the part can be used to make medicine, clothing, food, paper, and construction materials. It is estimated that the annual revenue from hemp textiles in Uttarakhand would be to the tune of Rs 240 crore, while the farmer growing the hemp would get about Rs 1 lakh annually from its sale.
The plant grows easily in most climates and enriches poor soil after each harvest. The plant is generally recognized today as a potent psychoactive substance, but for many years it was harvested primarily for fever. Due to its rapid growth in both temperate and warm climates, part has been used for centuries to make a variety of items such as rope, paper, cloth, etc. The mention of parts is seen in many Indian texts before 1000 AD. Although there is a philological debate among scholars of culture as to whether bhang can be identified with modern hemp, Cannabis sativa is one of the candidates for the identity of the plant that was used to prepare soma since Vedic times. Soma was an intoxicating ritual drink highly praised in the Rigveda. The British Parliament enacted an Act on Hemp, Hemp, and Charas in 1798, stating that the purpose of the tax was to reduce the consumption of cannabis for the good health and sanity of the natives.
Industrial and cultivation uses
industrial hemp production, cannabis is widely used for a variety of purposes, including as medicine and for making cloth. Extensive research has shown that the industrial segment has the potential to transform entire industries for the better. Developed countries today are taking initiatives and implementing regulatory policies for rapid growth in the cannabis industry.
India, a land where cannabis was an integral part of society and used to participate in celebrations in the past, is now being rediscovered and used to promote new industries with state government legislation on industrial hemp. Re-formulating related policies and taking positive steps to promote cannabis cultivation
- The cannabis industry has immense potential to help develop various markets.
All cultivation of cannabis is more attractive because cannabis can grow on barren land and requires very few resources, including water, to thrive. It has many uses; for example, suppose cannabis grown on one acre of land can be grown on four acres of land. Hemp can produce as much paper as trees can. Such efficiency in the production of paper is the need of the hour because thousands of acres of trees are cut every year to make paper, so instead of cutting millions of trees, hemp can be cultivated, and paper can be produced.
2: The stem of the industrial hemp plant is used to make a tough fiber, and while rural women living in villages in the Himalayan region have done so for decades, science has shown hemp to be a superior fiber. The hemp industry has been instrumental in popularising the revolutionary potential of hemp fiber. Hemp fibre has anti-microbial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory abilities (to a certain extent), and the fabric produced from the hemp fibre is pleasant to the touch. soothingly soft and comfortable. Cannabis ceriva has a low THC content (0.37%), fully satisfies the criteria of the NDPS Acts, and has the potential to generate significant economic growth in countries around the world.
3: Most of the farmers in India are not rich, so they will be highly benefited by cultivating cannabis. Their cannabis can stay on barren land, which makes it ideal for cultivation by Indian farmers.
HEMP CULTIVATED IN UTTARAKHAND AND THE ECONOMY
In Uttarakhand, hemp fibers were called Bhangela. And Bhangela clothes were sent from here, Bhageli cloth was manufactured by Koli artisans. This cloth was cheaper than other cloths, the demand for material made of hemp fiber came from Ramnagar in Uttarakhand and local fairs (Bageshwar and Jauljibi) Available in the market, before the establishment of British rule, it was produced more for domestic use and not for drug consumption.
A long history and the economic potential of hemp is clearly vast and hemp cultivation is strong in many countries, including Canada and China, with over a million acres of land in Canada being used to grow hemp in addition to providing a source of valuable material. Thousands of jobs are created by the production of cannabinoids which supports thousands of families, the economy also grows by growing part.
Considering the example of Canada and its successful cannabis cultivation, there is little or no reason to believe that the same or greater success cannot be replicated in India. Like Canada, India also has an abundance of land suitable for growing cannabis, yet cannabis cultivation in India can have a greater economic impact on the country than such cultivation in Canada. Indian culture has a close relationship with hemp and hemp based products can easily generate revenue for Indian companies and through exports, one of the beneficiaries from more exporters will be the farmers who cultivate the demand since India is a It is a developing country so it will take time for Indian industries to adapt and make goods, yet Indians have deep knowledge of earth, nature, soil and crops and part cultivation is a natural result of such intimacy.
STUDY RESULT
The government of Uttarakhand has issued a license (Uttarakhand hemp license) to the Indian Industrial Hemp Association (IIHA) to start a pilot trial to promote industrial hemp cultivation in Pauri Garhwal district. The license, issued to IIHA for five years through the Excise Department, is effective January 1, 2019. IIHA has leased 9 hectares of land at Bilkhet near Satpuli, Pauri Garhwal, where three varieties of cannabis are being produced in three shift houses of 500 square meters each. Uttarakhand is the first state in India to legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp as earlier is hemp illegal. Hemp is commonly used in industry in the form of fiber.
Promoting hemp cultivation in small states like Uttarakhand can prove to be beneficial. Hemp can be cultivated even in less fertile land, and when hemp is sown in the same field for several years, the productivity of the land is comparable to that of other crops. It falls at a very fast rate; it takes 90 to 110 days for cannabis cultivation. In Uttarakhand, mixed cultivation of cannabis with maize is done in a traditional way.
In Uttarakhand, hemp seeds have been used as food for years; there would hardly be any house in Uttarakhand that does not make hemp chutney from potato flakes; it is high in protein, The oil extracted from hemp contains omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce cholesterol, which is good for the heart. Its flowers have medicinal properties, and its flowers and leaves are also used in beauty treatments.
In 18 years, the Uttarakhand government has behaved like cannabis cultivation. On the basis that cannabis cultivation will lead to addiction in the state, the government has not taken any steps till now. The state has the right to argue. Must be, the government itself cannot understand the difference between hemp and industrial hemp, nor is it able to explain it to the people of the state. The Uttarakhand government should encourage the farmers as farmers struggle as hemp harvest of the state to cultivate industrial hemp in a free, strict, regulatory state. The government has to come out of this illusion. The agriculture sector in Uttarakhand provides maximum employment, and currently 90% of the hill agriculture in the state is maintained by women.
The Law of Hemp Cultivation in India and Uttarakhand
Cultivation of cannabis for industrial purposes such as making industrial hemp or for horticultural use is legal in India. The National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances recognizes hemp as a source of biomass fiber and high value oil.
Can i grow hemp legally, On July 2018, the Uttarakhand government announced the first license for cannabis cultivation, making it the first state after Uttar Pradesh to legalize cannabis cultivation. As per the current legal status, the state of Uttarakhand is the largest producer of cannabis in India.
CONCLUSION
Is growing hemp a profitable business?
Hemp is used for a variety of commercial and industrial products including rope, clothing, the finest fibers can be used to make 100% hemp clothing, hemp oil is solidified from the seed, and it’s Used in the manufacture of oil-based paints, as a moisturizing agent in creams, and in plastics.
Today there are ghost villages throughout Uttarakhand. The villages are so called because they were abandoned, and their former residents moved to parts of the country that offered more economic opportunities, although cannabis cultivation was not allowed. Many of such villagers have gone back to the villages, as cannabis cultivation has provided them a means of earning a livelihood. Such migration has not only presented the villagers with a means of earning a livelihood, but it has also reduced some of the burden on the larger cities, where the villagers had migrated in search of better opportunities. Will happen, because they can stay in their villages. and enjoy a much higher standard of living and higher savings rate than working in a city.
AUTHOR BY – KALYAN SINGH
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