QCH signs agreement to manufacture, sell HempTrain in SA
The HempTrain decorticator plant is a complete, whole plant hemp processing solution with technology capable of separating baled hemp straw to produce bast fiber, hurd and green microfibre, which provide the raw materials sold into various downstream industries including textiles, construction materials, food, animal care, personal hygiene, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Reliable supply of raw materials
Quattro-Canna Holdings said that deal will provide a solution for the hemp processing bottleneck it expects in South Africa.
"In order for the hemp industry to grow in South Africa, downstream industry partners need assurance that there will be a reliable supply of quality raw materials that can be easily integrated into their current manufacturing processes with minimal disruptions,” said Sizwe Nkukwana, MD of QCH. He sees the HempTrain playing an important role in enabling the entire value chain by making sure that there is enough local processing capacity giving farmers assurance that their production will have a market.
The HempTrain will be manufactured in Pondoland, near Mthatha, Eastern Cape, and have service centres throughout the country. The HempTrain will also provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to set up facilities throughout South Africa and offer processing services to the local farms. According to QCH, the ideal entrepreneur would be one with good farming knowledge and an inherent love for community development in order to provide support to local emerging hemp farmers and cooperatives.
Along with Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency, Quattro-Canna Holdings shares the view that South Africa needs to cultivate 250,000 hectares of land in order to establish the required critical mass to persuade downstream industries to adopt hemp into their manufacturing processes. This acreage would yield nearly 1,5m tonnes of biomass requiring 278 plants for the South African market. In the new processing segment of the hemp value chain alone, nearly 3,000 new permanent well-paying jobs would be created, said QCH.
Headquartered in Sandton, QCH is also involved in cultivation operations in partnership with Pondoland-based stakeholders that currently hold a hemp research permit and plan to cultivate 1,000 hectares in September/October 2021 once the new permits are issued by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
QCH, in partnership with Crafted Hemp Farms, has established Route 420 Holdings to offer extension services to the emerging hemp farms in the Eastern Cape. Route 420 will be able to provide seeds, hemp cultivation and harvesting expertise, capital equipment, finance and access to processing capacity with the HempTrain and access to downstream markets