Industrial hemp cultivation could make Paraguay a carbon-neutral country
Paraguayan company has the first, and only so far, positive carbon certificate for hemp production in the world.
By Jacqueline Passos
Everyone already knows that hemp and sustainability go hand in hand, and this combination can be beneficial for society and the environment. With that in mind, a group of Paraguayan companies decided to innovate. The Hemp Hub Paraguay project could make the country carbon-neutral through industrial hemp cultivation. Currently, the conglomerate of companies already has an international certification - issued by SGS USA, a world leader in testing, inspection, and certification - that validates hemp cultivation as carbon-positive. So far, they are the only ones to achieve this feat.
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But what are the benefits of this type of certification for the population?
For some time now, planet Earth has been experiencing various effects of human actions, such as climate change, global warming, and the greenhouse effect. With the increase in gas emissions in the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), there is a higher concentration of these compounds in the Earth's layer, making it thicker and retaining more heat on the planet. This creates a greenhouse effect, which causes global warming and, consequently, temperature changes and their respective effects, such as increased or decreased rainfall, more frequent storms, a more intense hurricane season, increased or decreased air humidity, and other issues.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the planet's average temperature has risen by 1.1 degrees since the second half of the 19th century, due to the Industrial Revolution. And the future is not expected to be different, according to projections from the journal Science, the Earth's atmospheric temperature could rise by 2 to 5 degrees Celsius by the year 2100.
Currently, there are global initiatives to mitigate the consequences of this phenomenon, such as the Paris Agreement - which replaced the Kyoto Protocol (1997) - created in 2015 and signed by 195 countries, who committed to strive to keep the planet's average temperature increase below 2°C from pre-industrial levels. Therefore, initiatives like that of Hemp Hub Paraguay, which aims to balance carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the atmosphere through industrial hemp cultivation, are important.
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The Hemp Hub Paraguay project
The company divides the initiative into two fronts: social and environmental. In terms of the environment, the ISO certification issued by SGS USA is expected to make Paraguay a carbon-neutral country by 2025. This is because the company already has the goal of reaching the cultivation of 100,000 hectares of industrial hemp. Regarding social impact, the group, in partnership with the Paraguayan government, already has programs for the inclusion of native indigenous people, the Hemp Guarani, also a pioneer in the market. In November 2021, the Chiripá de Mbói Jagua Indigenous Community was the first to join the social program. In addition to all the technical and agronomic support and financial assistance, Hemp Hub also provides seeds and guarantees the purchase of the entire production at a pre-established price.
According to Thiago Patriota, Chief Marketing Officer of Hemp Hub Paraguay, "This means that the more cannabis-derived products we manufacture (foods, supplements, cosmetics, and herbal medicines), the greater the socio-economic and environmental impact of our project. The Hemp Guarani program has been a success, and we already have partner growers in more than 11 states of Paraguay."
The initiative was even commented on by Lorenzo Rolim da Silva, president of LAIHA (Latin American Industrial Hemp Association), a partner of the Hemp Hub project, in a column for this portal.
"The highlight is the inclusion of indigenous communities, which received seeds donated by the companies (Healthy Grains and Irupe SA) and technical assistance for cultivation directly from the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the companies' technicians. Today we can say that Paraguay is the first country known where the Government is supporting the production of Hemp in local indigenous communities, providing another income alternative for these native peoples and promoting education through the Ministry's technicians."
Lorenzo Rolim da Silva
The project also highlights the economic benefits for the country, as Paraguay is on track to become a global powerhouse in the hemp industry. Just last year, the country exported about 20 tons of inputs worldwide, leading local authorities to celebrate this economic expansion. Its contributions are diverse, ranging from research to the export of inputs to other countries, an action that has been generating wealth, job opportunities, and economic development in a way never seen before in the country. Here, we hope that projects like this inspire national companies or even government officials, so that all of Latin America can grow with the opportunities that hemp offers.