Hemp grown on marginal lands

With an increasingly growing world population the task of producing enough food is becoming progressively challenging. With a high percentage of suitable land for agriculture already being farmland combined with further degradation due to unsustainable practices and challenges of land use change like deforestation and soil sealing, guaranteeing sustainable food security has the upmost priority. 

The production of biobased products risks exacerbating an already tense situation. Therefore, it is essential to minimize competition for land use and resource allocation. One way to achieve this is by prioritizing food production and utilising land that is not suitable for traditional agriculture to produce non-food biobased products.

Whilst there is no uniform definition, there is consensus that marginal land is characterised by biophysical and socio-economic constraints. These constraints arise from factors such as non-profitable productivity due to location, geography, soil fertility, unfavourable soil conditions, degradation, lot size, lack of available water, or poor drainage (Lewis & Kelly, 2014). The abandonment of such land often has negative consequences for soil protection, biodiversity, and climate regulation.

The ability of hemp to grow under adverse conditions and the wide range of hemp-derived products make it a suitable candidate for cultivation on marginal lands. This is not only beneficial in terms of reducing competition with food production but could also help reverse the abandonment of land and mitigate the associated negative consequences. Despite all the listed positive effects, the economic feasibility of hemp cultivation on marginal land must be carefully considered. Hemp cultivation and its further processing are either labour-intensive or require a high degree of mechanisation. Difficult terrain or other unfavourable geographical factors can make the use of specialized equipment impractical. Additionally, long distances or inaccessibility can complicate the transportation of biomass. However, the unique ability of hemp to grow under more challenging conditions than other crops suggest potential for commercial cultivation in certain instances.