May I Mention The 'h' Word [h*e*m*p] On Thaivisa?

[brahmburgers]

Her Majesty the Queen has initiated research into growing industrial hemp in Thailand. I applaud her efforts.

Growing hemp is a burgeoning international agriculture industry.

It is legally grown in more than 30 countries, including Canada, Germany, England, France, Spain, Australia, Hungary and Romania. But the Thailand is being left behind by being overly-influenced by archaic U.S. taboos – which prevent Thai farmers from taking advantage of this profitable crop.

As an agriculture commodity, hemp has great potential in Thailand. It requires little or no pesticides or herbicides, and

grows hardy on poor soils. Hemp fiber can be used as an alternative to a number of products, including high-quality

paper. One rai of hemp can produce up to four times as much fiber as one rai of timber.

Hemp stalks could be burned for power generation – a renewable energy source that’s much cleaner than coal or nuclear, and doesn’t require damming rivers – all of which are being seriously considered by our leaders in Bangkok - who need to

find ways to keep millions of cubic meters of Bangkok buildings continually chilly. Moreover, hemp products can be used to make building materials, create biodegradable plastics and clean-burning fuel. In the food department, besides tasty and nutritious hempnuts, another delicious item is naturally sweet hempmilk. A one serving has 4 grams of protein, and is packed with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and half one’s daily calcium needs.

In 2005, the U.S. imported 270 million dollars worth of hemp products – and those numbers are expected to rise 10% per year. Most of those imports were from Canada and China. Thailand doesn’t reap a satang of that because its farmers are not allowed to grow hemp.

If anyone reading this still thinks that hemp is a drug, then they really ought to do themselves a favor and become aware that that hemp has barely measurable traces of THC and is not psychoactive (cannot get you high) ...any more than smoking burlap bags or chicken coop dust.

Tha

[ozzydom]

Her Majesty the Queen has initiated research into growing industrial hemp in Thailand. I applaud her efforts.

Growing hemp is a burgeoning international agriculture industry.

It is legally grown in more than 30 countries, including Canada, Germany, England, France, Spain, Australia, Hungary and Romania. But the Thailand is being left behind by being overly-influenced by archaic U.S. taboos – which prevent Thai farmers from taking advantage of this profitable crop.

As an agriculture commodity, hemp has great potential in Thailand. It requires little or no pesticides or herbicides, and

grows hardy on poor soils. Hemp fiber can be used as an alternative to a number of products, including high-quality

paper. One rai of hemp can produce up to four times as much fiber as one rai of timber.

Hemp stalks could be burned for power generation – a renewable energy source that’s much cleaner than coal or nuclear, and doesn’t require damming rivers – all of which are being seriously considered by our leaders in Bangkok - who need to

find ways to keep millions of cubic meters of Bangkok buildings continually chilly. Moreover, hemp products can be used to make building materials, create biodegradable plastics and clean-burning fuel. In the food department, besides tasty and nutritious hempnuts, another delicious item is naturally sweet hempmilk. A one serving has 4 grams of protein, and is packed with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and half one’s daily calcium needs.

In 2005, the U.S. imported 270 million dollars worth of hemp products – and those numbers are expected to rise 10% per year. Most of those imports were from Canada and China. Thailand doesn’t reap a satang of that because its farmers are not allowed to grow hemp.

If anyone reading this still thinks that hemp is a drug, then they really ought to do themselves a favor and become aware that that hemp has barely measurable traces of THC and is not psychoactive (cannot get you high) ...any more than smoking burlap bags or chicken coop dust.

Tha

The first sanctioned "hemp" crop in Oz was grown only 2km from my home there,it is a different strain to the hemp used as a recreational drug as its THC is extremely low as you say.

The main purpose of the trial was to ascertain its suitability for paper and cloth manufacture,what stage the industry is at now I,m not sure.

My island home is also the centre for opium poppy growing in Oz by Glaxo the pharmecutical giant, being an island made security so much easier.

Ozzy

[pete_r]

What would be the productivity of hemp per rai or per ha, compared to sugar cane or cassava (can grow on poor soils similar to hemp) or bamboo (rich in fibers)?

Cassava productivity is in the range 17-20 tons of roots per hectare.

[euca]

I read over 2000 useful products can be made from hemp. Many opportunities for small farmers and SMEs. Reduces imports, replaces some plastics usage, rots down when dumped at end of service life.

[brahmburgers]

there are indeed a multitude of practical uses for hemp. One recent addition: sandbags. they're degradable.

I don't know the production yield per rai, but I would venture that it's large.

How about bio-degradable packaging, especially for fast food marketing - which uses styrofoam by the ton. A lightweight form-holding item that would be designed to start slowly & naturally decomposing upon contact with water. There are many such projects I'd like to suggest to budding young Thai inventors/entrepreneurs (is that an oxymoron?). Where are the Thai innovators? Are they stymied in a society firmly resigned to adapting innovations from other countries (pharma, movies, software, hardware, you-name-it).

back to the food items that are coming from hemp - new items are being created week by week. One of the latest is a 'hempbar' that's flavored with carob, has no cane sugar added, and has protein, nutrition and omega-3 - all in one tasty little package. Will it ever become popular in Thailand? Probably if a big teaspoon of sugar were added. Even so, it would surely be an imported item with a ramped-up price. Best scenario would be Thai innovators develop such treats, and possibly market them throughout Thailand and beyond. But innovation is in short supply here. Plus hemp is still a no-no - according to higher-ups in Bangkok. They're much too busy worrying about whether Thaksin will come back (he won't, except in proxy).

[Clipped]

bi bauh - this is a leaf that is stir fired and usually served in kao thom restaurants, it is hemp.

[chownah]

Hemp grows hardy on poor soils? What does this mean? What does "grows hardy"mean...that it "hardly grows" on poor soils. I think that most farmers will realise that if a plant can not fix nitrogen in the soil (hemp cannot) then you can not heavily crop it year on year without replenishing the soil. Sunn Hemp (not related to real hemp at all) is a fibre crop that fixes its own nitrogen in the soil....from a sustainability standpoint it is probably a better bet than hemp...and its legal....and almost no one really is interested in growing it except for a few organic farmers who grow it as a green manure crop and NOT for its fibre....it is grown for fibre in India but not widely.

You can burn hemp to generate electricity?....well of course you can but how efficient a system would that be?....is this being done anywhere in the world now on a large scale?...probably not. Just because you can burn hemp means you can generate electricty from it but that does not mean the it will be an efficient system overall.

I think that those most avidly promoting hemp are neither farmers nor power generation engineers. I think hemp should be legal.....heck, I think that marjejuana should be legal....but I think that the "hemp will solve all our problems" brigade has not done their homework very well....I am open minded about this and some good solid evidence is what it would take though to convince me, not just unsupported claims.

Chownah

Edited September 2, 2007 by chownah

[brahmburgers]

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Edited September 4, 2007 by brahmburgers

[brahmburgers]

Hemp grows hardy on poor soils? What does this mean? What does "grows hardy"mean...that it "hardly grows" on poor soils. I think that most farmers will realise that if a plant can not fix nitrogen in the soil (hemp cannot) then you can not heavily crop it year on year without replenishing the soil. Sunn Hemp (not related to real hemp at all) is a fibre crop that fixes its own nitrogen in the soil....from a sustainability standpoint it is probably a better bet than hemp...and its legal....and almost no one really is interested in growing it except for a few organic farmers who grow it as a green manure crop and NOT for its fibre....it is grown for fibre in India but not widely.

You can burn hemp to generate electricity?....well of course you can but how efficient a system would that be?....is this being done anywhere in the world now on a large scale?...probably not. Just because you can burn hemp means you can generate electricty from it but that does not mean the it will be an efficient system overall.

I think that those most avidly promoting hemp are neither farmers nor power generation engineers. I think hemp should be legal.....heck, I think that marjejuana should be legal....but I think that the "hemp will solve all our problems" brigade has not done their homework very well....I am open minded about this and some good solid evidence is what it would take though to convince me, not just unsupported claims.

Chownah

the word 'hardy' has no relation to the word 'hardly' other than similar spelling. '....hardy on poor soils', perhaps I should have included the word 'comparatively'. Look at it this way: there are patches of ground in regions throughout Thailand - where the soil is not as hardy (or viable or nutritious) as one would hope. Most commercial crops would not yield on such soils - whereas hemp would. It grows like a weed on an abandoned lot. Obviously, if the soil were good, the hemp would grow that much bigger.

I'm not sure whether you understand that hemp is not gangja. It is the same plant family, (much as tomatoes and potatos and deadly nightshade are within their own plant family) - but hemp contains less than 0.03% THC - whereas ganga has lots of THC and is therefore psychosomatic (gets you high). Hemp doesn't.

As for electricity generation: anything that can be burned, can generate electricity. You could even generate power from burning old tires, but you wouldn't want to do that for obvious reasons. Hemp is an annual that grows hardy enough so its dried stalks would likely be a great source for burning. The fact that it has not being done elsewhere is even more reason for experimenting with the concept. Thais are notorious for copying other people, though too often they copy weterners' less attractive habits (violent videos, etc). By showing that hemp could be viable for renewable energy source - could set Thais on the world stage as innovators.

The stalks being burned for power would have already had their seed harvested - mega-useful and nutritious for food items (cereal, snack bars, hempmilk, etc) and even useful for its oil (lubricant, cooking, vanity products, etc).

Google hemp. There's a group called HIA that has excellent scientific data plus the latest political news on hemp. http://www.thehia.org/

[chownah]

Brahmburgers,

With due respect, you are showing your lack of understanding of agriculture. A vacant lot with poor soil will not have alot of weeds growing on it....it will have very few, small, stunted weeds. Poor soil will not produce alot of biomass. Trying to grow biomass on poor soil means that it will cost you more in fuel and effort than the biomass you will get will be worth. A vacant lot with a lush crop of weeds is evidence that the vacant lot has good soil. The lush crop of weeds grows there every year because the biomass generated is not removed but instead rots back into the soil so the nutrients are recycled and in many climates this process will actually improve the quality and quantity of the topsoil because there will often be some plants and micro-organisms which fix nitrogen from the air into the soil increasing its nitrogen content and the decomposition of the organic matter creates mild organic acids which dissolve nutrient in the soil making them available for plants to use whereas when undissolved they are unavailable. This beneficial activity will continue to happen so long as the plant residues are left there to fuel the process.....but....if the biomass is removed (take the hemp seeds to process and take the dired stalks to burn) then there will not be any decaying plant material to create the acids to free up the nutrients and there will be fewer microorganism and plants that fix the nitrogen from the air...and you will end up with a dessert sometimes and even less fertile soil than you started with everytime.

The term "hardy" is usually used in horticulture to mean a plant which is capable of living through frosts and/or freezing weather.....some plants are hardy to 0 degrees C and some are hardy to -10 degrees C for instance. I have never seen it being used the way you are using it and I think it does not express the meaning which you intend.

I fully understand the difference between hemp for fibre and ganja. I am also aware that the way you grow hemp for seeds and the way you grow hemp for fibre or stalks for fuel are different and if you raise it to optimize seed you will not get a good fibre/stalk yield and visa versa.

Hemp has been around for a long time and is legal in many places...but it has not transformed their societies or economies. Maybe hemp is a good thing but I think that many people who promote it are not farmers and are not power generation engineers and as a result they make alot of claims that are not supported by facts and as a result many people tend to view hemp supporters as being.......naive?....poorly informed?

Anyway I'm not trying to flame here. I'm tring to clear up some misconceptions about poor soils and growing hemp. I'm an ex ganja grower so I have no bias against hemp at all at all. What I always wonder is why my friends that have gotten on the hemp bandwagon so often go off on propogandistic tirades whenever I try to explain how farming works. (I'm not talking about people on Thaivisa) I'm very very willing to learn more about hemp growing although I do believe that I do understand somewhat how it works having specifically undertaken a study of hemp in all its forms back when I started my ex ganja cultivation. There is a good book that is no longer in print (I think not in print) called "Long Vegetable Fibres". If you can find a copy it is a good text on all of the different crops that are raised for producing fibre.

I'm going to go look at the link you provided and see what its got.

Chownah

So....I took a look and frankly was disappointed. I did not find any information about growing hemp. I did find out that it is legal and is grown in lots of places....one place nearby is Australia. They have alot of poor soils so if I'm completely off base in my talk about soils and hemp will actually grow like a bandit on poor soils sustainably then we can just sit back and watch because soon hemp will be covering Australia and transforming its food, fuel, and fibre economies. I know I sound a bit sarcastic...but isn't this sort of what you hemp supporters are suggesting...that raising hemp is in some way revolutionary?

Chownah

Edited September 4, 2007 by chownah