AoteA Programme - Industrial Hemp

Growing Industrial Hemp is the simplest and most cost effective way of capturingCO2, is completely scaleable and just about anyone can do it. That’s why Hemp is a vital part of our programmes.

Industrial Hemp produces raw materials that can be used for green materials, including:

Plastics.

Bricks / Blocks / Fibreboard.

Textiles / clothing / bedding.

Oils for cooking, wood preservation and essential.

Cooking fuels.

Fuels.

Batteries.

There are more than 202 million hectares of uncultivated arable land in Africa.

  • Carbon Capture: One hectare of industrial hemp can absorb about 18 tonnes of CO2 in less than120 days, that’s over 3.6 Billion tonnes of CO2.
  • Less Drought: Such large scale plant coverage on previously uncultivated ground will increase precipitation in the water cycle,bringing rain and helping to re-balance nature and the climate.
  • Food Security: Food crops will be more abundant because soil quality and resilience will greatly improve due to increased presence of nutrients and micro organisms, and superior water retention.
  • Political Stability: The food security, economic and political stability which would ensue from a successful large scale operation would reduce or even stop human migration caused by duress, and could result in many migrants returning to their homelands and their families, with real hope for a better future.
  • Economic Benefits: Due to its quick growing cycle and coupled with the AoteA Rural Revitalisation Programme multiple growing cycles can be achieved yearly coupled with the vast amount of products that industrial hemp can provide in a green and ecologically improving way and the possibility of carbon credits Industrial Hemp is the ideal cash crop for many farmers.

“With its easy cultivation and vast environmental and economic potential, industrial hemp cultivation can be the way forward for the growth of sustainable value chains in local and regional markets for many developing countries,”

UNCTAD report.

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The kick-start consists of a "Smallholder In A Box" solution, which includes everything required to start growing crops successfully:

Hemp stalks can be used to make carbon char, activated with organic matter and buried in the ground, locking in the CO2 and significantly boosting food crop yields during crop rotation.


Hemp can be used to make over 25,000 different products, via greatly varying levels of manufacturing sophistication. The economies of participating nations will grow, as they process the hemp into increasingly more value added products for export.


Many products which are currently made of oil based plastic can be replaced by hemp based plastic, thus significantly reducing pollution levels. According to the OECD, only 9% of all plastics ever made have been recycled.


Carbon intensive building materials can be replaced by easily produced hemp based materials which lock CO2 into buildings, making them carbon negative.

Elements for Success