Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry revealed that Pakistan’s hemp project is becoming a reality. The country is ready to enter the multi-million dollar hemp industry.
Taking to Twitter, the Federal Minster called hemp “master-piece of modern agriculture.” He also congratulated the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), and experts of Arid University for the project.
“The Medical Hemp project that I launched at the Ministry of Science has now become a reality. This masterpiece of modern agriculture will give Pakistan a chance to enter the multi-million dollar industry. Congratulations to PCSIR and Arid University scientists and experts,” the Minister wrote on Twitter.
میڈیکل Hemp کا پراجیکٹ جو وزارت سائنس میں میں نے لانچ کیا تھا اب ایک حقیقت بن چکا ہے، جدید زراعت کا یہ شاہکار پاکستان کو ملٹی ملین ڈالر انڈسٹری میں قدم جمانے کا موقع دے گا، PCSIR اور Arid یونیورسٹی کی سائنسدان اور ماہرین کو بہت مبارک ، #Hemp pic.twitter.com/JnnaTSKExR
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) December 24, 2021
Important to note, last year, the federal cabinet approved the production of industrial hemp by the government. According to Fawad Chaudhry, who was the Minister for Science and Technology at the time, revealed that the production of hemp could result in a $1 billion market for Pakistan in the future.
Interestingly, people began misinterpreting the cabinet decision as allowing the cultivation of a poppy-like crop in Pakistan could be used to make addictive drugs. However, Fawad Chaudhry clarified that the industrial hemp plant contains a compound called cannabidiol. The said compound can “play a very important role” in medical therapies meant to mitigate severe and chronic pain. Moreover, several countries including China and Canada already cultivated hemp on tens of thousands of acres.
Read more: Hemp production in Pakistan: Legal Challenges vs Policy Initiative
Additionally, the government also aims to use hemp crops as a substitute of fiber in the textile and paper industry.
Shibli Faraz inaugurates “hemp harvest” in Rawalpindi
Thursday, Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz inaugurated the hemp crop in Rawat. Speaking on the occasion, Shibli Faraz said that hemp is used in medicines and its cultivation will bring a variety in crops.
“Hemp can also greatly influence import and export. The products made of hemp are more profitable than the hemp itself,” he said. “Hemp-made products can give profit up to ten times the original drug.”
Furthermore, the federal minister said the prime minister had run a campaign to grow olive in the country and now we are seeing that its production has also started.
Read more: Pakistan to become world’s number one olive exporter-Jamshed Cheema