So, the place is a lot of the water used?

It’s agriculture.

The world’s 70% of contemporary, drinkable water is consumed for rising crops, which feed humanity. So, it’s an integral part within the meals chain, completely unavoidable.

On the identical time, 3 billion individuals internationally face excessive water scarcity for a minimum of 30 days yearly, disrupting their lives and productiveness.

The answer is sustainable agriculture practices that devour much less water, with out impacting the manufacturing of meals, in order that billions of individuals don’t need to face water shortage.

If we speak about crops, then cotton and rice are those that devour the utmost quantity of water, with most contribution to the depletion of significant water sources. Round 10,000 litres of water is required to supply 1 kg of cotton, and between 2500 to 5000 litres of water to supply one kg of rice!

It’s right here that the function of hemp in conserving water comes into play.

In comparison with cotton’s 10,000 litres of water requirement, hemp solely wants 300-500 litres of water for 1kg of fiber manufacturing, which is 94% much less water wanted for a similar output.

This proves that all of us want an increasing number of hemp, and we have to change cotton to avoid wasting an amazing quantity of water.

Isn’t this astonishing?

Even when the farmer fails to obtain water, hemp will discover a option to develop and thrive, due to its wonderful resilience to dry situations.

Research executed in Kazakhstan, an especially dry nation, discovered that hemp required solely 353 mm of water per rising season, and produced upto 10 tonnes per hectare.

No different crop can maintain such dry climate situations and nonetheless have zero impression on yields.

Hemp’s root system has a rare property of reaching upto 9 toes underground, which permits the plant to entry groundwater and cut back floor irrigation wants.

This implies, much less water is required on the floor, thereby conserving water on a large scale, and on the identical time, retaining and bettering soil situation by its capability to retain moisture.

Round 2 billion cotton t-shirts are offered yearly, globally.

Now, if we change cotton with hemp for these 2 billion t-shirts, we are able to save 4.7 trillion litres of water yearly, which is sufficient to:

• Present every day consuming water for six.5 billion individuals for a 12 months (based mostly on WHO’s 2 liters/day/individual).

• Refill 1.9 million Olympic-sized swimming swimming pools.

• Irrigate 1.2 million hectares of farmland yearly.

And this, we’re speaking solely about cotton t-shirts.

Globally, round 25 million tonnes of cotton are produced. Prospects are certainly limitless if we begin changing cotton with hemp for cloth and different purposes.

Definition: Carbon sequestration refers back to the technique of capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the ambiance to mitigate local weather change, both via pure processes like plant development or via engineered options like underground storage.

Amongst different astonishing properties of hemp, essentially the most putting is its capability to sequestrate and take up carbon.

As per research, it has been revealed that the hemp plant can seize between 8-15 tons of CO2 per hectare throughout its development cycle, which is about 90-120 days.

Such a swift development cycle means extra hemp, and extra carbon seize, thereby defending our surroundings and making a Greener Earth.

As per analysis revealed in Frontiers in Environmental Science, it has been confirmed that cultivating and harvesting hemp can lead to a net-negative carbon steadiness when the residues are repurposed in an optimized method.

Thus, whereas hemp can take up extra carbon whereas rising, it additionally contributes to decreasing greenhouse fuel emissions when managed optimally.

Hemp is the true MVP, as a result of not solely does it assist in conserving water, decreasing carbon and greenhouse fuel emissions, but it surely additionally prevents soil erosion, and boosts natural content material in soil by upto 30% by way of crop rotation practices.

In flip, such wholesome soil retains extra moisture, contributing to extra yield per hectare.

That is why hemp known as the regenerative plant: It may possibly take up carbon and nitrogen from the air, and push them again into the soil, thereby regenerating soil and making it much more productive with extra vitamins.

Lastly, hemp has a tremendous capability to soak up heavy metals, toxins, and different dangerous parts from the soil, making it clear by way of the Phytoremediation course of. In some use instances, hemp is just used to revive degraded land, whereas concurrently producing priceless biomass.

Cultivating and producing hemp presents a transformative alternative for farmers, triggering their social and financial growth.

HempFoundation is spearheading one such motion in India, by selling sustainable practices, creating jobs, empowering rural communities, and decreasing reliance on conventional crops.

Let’s learn how?

Since hemp has a pure resistance to pests, farmers are capable of save upto 70% in prices by not utilizing pesticides, thereby not solely saving cash, but additionally producing more healthy crops.

The advantages and benefits of cultivating hemp have been proven, confirmed, and skilled, however nonetheless, challenges persist in its mass-scale adoption, particularly in India. A few of the greatest challenges embody:

Worldwide, together with in India, the hemp business is going through advanced regulatory challenges and inconsistent guidelines. It contains variations within the definition of hemp and marijuana, the foundations on THC limits, and the licensing protocols for producing industrial hemp.

That is creating confusion amongst farmers and sellers, and stopping us from totally unleashing the potential of hemp.

Now, we’d like a shift within the mindset, created by years of propaganda in opposition to the utilization of hemp, particularly because of the intoxicating results of marijuana.

That is the rationale that hemp continues to be stigmatized because of its affiliation with marijuana, regardless of its non-psychoactive nature. This misunderstanding is stopping manufacturers and producers from getting related to hemp-related merchandise, discouraging farmers from rising it.

The hemp business wants extra analysis, extra research, and statistics to actually perceive the potential and the chances for max output.

There are inadequate research on the hemp’s purposes, cultivation strategies, and environmental advantages, which interprets to half-baked enterprise concepts and incorrect farming strategies.

Amidst the worldwide water disaster and local weather change, hemp is the beacon of hope and prospects. As talked about within the case examine, if all t-shirts on the planet have been created utilizing hemp, greater than 4 trillion litres of water may very well be saved.

If an increasing number of hemp is produced by farmers, not solely will the soil get enriched, but additionally the general productiveness shall enhance, a regenerative agriculture observe might be carried out, and greenhouse fuel emissions might be eradicated.

Hemp can take up extra carbon than some other plant, enhance the earnings potential of farmers, and create a brand new, thrilling market that makes this Earth a greater place to reside.

By investing in hemp cultivation and supporting insurance policies that promote its use, we are able to pave the way in which towards a extra resilient future—one the place each our ecosystems and communities thrive amidst the challenges forward.

The time to behave is now; embracing hemp may very well be our greatest probability at making certain a sustainable planet for generations to come back.