What all qualities and benefits would an agriculturalist look for before selecting what to grow? About his soil, cost effectiveness, market potential, chemicals, weeds etcetera, etcetera… And here is something that provides all these benefits and even more all under one roof that are in favour of the agriculturalist. Hemp, which is a variety of Cannabis Sativa plant species, is springing up as one of the most beneficial crops to grow by the upcoming agriculturalists. The width of these benefits is such that there are it has already been declared as a ‘wonder crop’ for the farmers still there are ongoing researches worldwide in order to get acquainted with all its benefits. This crop has never failed to amaze the researchers by revealing more and more advantages in every research.
Unlike other plants that deplete the soil quality when grown, hemp revives or replenishes the soil fertility. It roots reach deep into the soil thereby reducing soil erosion by holding the soil together. Due to its root robust structure, it produces biomass that gives us an organic structure that stays in soil and helps it recover and improve over the time. It preserves the integrity of the soil and creates healthy food which in turns creates healthy people. It happens to be a resilient plant and a potential tool for bioremediation.
Cultivating hemp can definitely help in improving the livelihood of such organic farmers who couldn’t be much prosperous till now due to the low productivity and unreachability of typical organic farming. The process of growing hemp is relatively very manageable and cost effective. Not only this, researches have shown that industrial hemp grows incredibly quick. It just takes around 3-4 months for hemp stalks to reach maturity. Thence, it gives the farmers an opportunity to make multiple harvests in a single year in turn resulting in a higher overall yield.
As hemp is widely and effectively used for industrial use these days, it provides a great return value to the farmers. Various industrial products that can be made with this plant include fabric, ropes, paper, food, skin and hair care products, oils and many more…. Due to its multi usage, the demand for its cultivation is increasing day by day on an incredibly high pace.
One of the biggest tasks of the farmers is to protect their crops from weeds and other diseases. Growing hemp in this matter is a big relief to the farmers. Hemp is a natural chemical free crop grown without many pesticides. It is naturally resistant to most of the diseases and pests. Farmers can easily avoid the usage of pesticides and other chemicals in its growth. Due to this quality, hemp is also used as a cover crop by many.
Hemp pulls back the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere thus making the air around healthier to breathe in. it mitigates the critical environmental impacts like climate change, which is utmost essential for the future of farming. Thus, it relieves the farmer by an organic and guilt-free farming. It is truly a sustainable plant. It requires much less water to grow compared to other cash crops and is easy to grow as it can be grown even indoors as well.
In a nutshell, hemp is an emerging as one of the great options to be considered to grow. This plant has till date known to be possessing most of the benefits that cultivators and farmers long for. Its benefits are multi-faceted either one looks at it from farmer’s point of view or environmental view or even the economical view. Protection of his soil quality, disease resistance, organic farming, less water usage, various industrial usage, strong economical are the factors that wok commonly for the benefit of each one of the society and the nature.