What is that. Hemp sativa is a plant with a thousand virtues: like pig, nothing is thrown away! Textile fibers, building materials, paper and packaging are obtained, as well as oil, paints, soaps, waxes, cosmetics, detergents … Oil and seeds are superfoods, beneficial for our diet, for the content of fatty acids polyunsaturated and the proportion of omega 3 and 6.
Business and who does it
The new law on the industrial hemp chain has also been approved in the Senate. It will soon be published in the Official Journal. And soon we will talk about it on Millionaire.
«Waiting for the large-scale green light of Cannabis indica for therapeutic purposes, in Italy there is a boom in the cultivation of hemp (cannabis sativa), with a 150% increase in cultivated land (2013/2014)» reveals Coldiretti. “In the last year, the farms involved in sowing have doubled: there were 300 in 2014. The hectares cultivated have almost tripled, 1000, from Puglia to Piedmont, from Veneto to Basilicata, but also in Friuli, Sicily and Sardinia”. It adapts to all latitudes and all types of terrain, as long as there is no stagnation of water, with adequate preparation.
«Growing hemp, for me, was a lifestyle choice. I am not the son of farmers »says Pasquale Polosa, 31, who started Canapa Lucana three years ago, now a company, which is soon a cooperative. «I started with 3 hectares. We are already at 30. And we are increasing yields. For now, the fibers are transformed in Piedmont, but the new Taranto plant will stimulate the start of new crops, in the South and throughout Italy. There are associations all over Italy that can give information on the cultivation and use of hemp sativa ». Polosa sells oil online and to shopkeepers: oil, 10 euros for 250 ml, whole seeds, 5 euros for 250 g, and shelled, 7 euros. Seeds and oil are used raw. Flour mixes with cereals to prepare high-protein pasta.
A plant that laughs
«The planting of a hemp field costs 700-800 euros per hectare. The costs are similar to those for a corn field, but with organic fertilization »says Roberto Revello, 51 years old. Tired of spending energy in bankruptcy companies, after the organizational experience of the Orto ethico association, he discovers hemp. And he falls in love with it, creating with 30 thousand euros Green Italy, site and commercial structure to make known and sell the products of many small farmers. «It’s a laughing plant. People are confused, think of the Mariiuana. But many approach food products with curiosity and sympathy ».
Rovello carries seeds and oil in markets and fairs dedicated to natural food, bio, the environment, sells to proven, shops, bakeries. “We are giving new producers information and sales outlets,” he says.