NHempCo plan to cultivate industrial hemp, set up plants

: Bengaluru based start-up firm Namrata Hemp Company(NHempCo) proposes to cultivate industrial hemp and set up processing and manufacturing plants in Telangana and will soon submit plans to the government for pilot projects, a top company official said today.

"We have prepared the proposal and will submit it to the state government very soon and expect the Telangana government to approve the pilot for cultivation of hemp in 25 acres and hemp processing and manufacturing plants in 15 acre," NHempCo Founder and MD Harshaavardhan Redi Sirupa told reporters here.

NHempCo is looking for the approval of a pilot project on hemp cultivation and setting up first hemp factory in Nalgonda or Mahabubnagar districts (of Telangana) and will make an initial investment of Rs 15 crore towards it, he said.

The company also planned to collaborate with agriculture and horticulture department to build up PPP model towards cultivation of industrial hemp on barren lands held by the government, he said.

On approval from the government,NHempCo proposes to start registering and collaborating with farmers across the state,he said, adding "Under our ecosystem, farmers are the biggest beneficiaries. Not just buy back from farmers, all iHemp seeds for cultivation will be distributed free from our company".

The company today launched an white paper 'Industrial Hemp-The Sunrise Industry of Telangana", highlighting on industrial hemp cultivation to boost the state's economy and how 'IHemp' can elevate farmers capabilities to revamp their farming process.

Harshaavardhan further said industrial hemp is classified under cannabis as per the NDPS Act.

Cultivation of industrial hemp has been restricted to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

However, the state governments have special powers to issue license for cannabis cultivation for industrial purposes, he added.

Industrial hemp's potential in India is highly underestimated and not fully explored, he said.

According to the company, over 25,000 products can be produced with hemp.

NHempCo is also in the initial stages of spearheading its mission by setting up a hemp farm in Alamuru village in Andhra Pradesh on 27 acres, where 15 acres are reserved for cultivating industrial hemp plants, and the remaining for processing units, warehouses, and R&D facilities, Harshaavardhan said.