Background

Local hemp products development company Quattro-Canna Holdings has signed a licence agreement with hemp processing equipment developer, Canadian Greenfield Technologies, to manufacture the HempTrain decorticator plant, designed for mass-processing of hemp straw- bales into bast fibre, hurd and green microfiber (GMF), in South Africa.

The HempTrain will be manufactured in Pondoland, near Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, and service centres will be established throughout the country. The HempTrain produces high-valuebast fibre, hurd and GMF – the raw materials for various downstream industries, including textiles, construction materials, food, animal care, personal hygiene, cosmetics and pharmaceutics.

The HempTrain will also provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to set up facilities throughout South Africa and offer processing services to local farms.

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 integratedinto their current manufacturing processes with minimal disruptions. The HempTrain will play an important role in the value chain by ensuring sufficient local processing capacity, giving farmers assurance that their production will have a market.

Along with the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency, Quattro-Canna Holdings shares the view that South Africa needs to cultivate 250 000 ha of land to establish the required critical mass to persuade downstream industries to adopt hemp into their manufacturing processes. This acreage would yield nearly 1.5-million tonnes of biomass, requiring 278 processing plants for the South African market. In the new processing segment of the hemp value chain alone, about 3 000 new permanent, well-paying jobs could be created.

Quattro-Canna is headquartered in Sandton, Gauteng, and is involved in cultivation operations in partnership with Pondoland-based stakeholders who currently hold a hemp research permit and plan to cultivate 1 000 ha in 2021 once the new permits are issued by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. In partnership with Crafted Hemp Farms, Quattro-Canna has established Route 420 Holdings to offer extensive services to 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.

Canadian Greenfield Technologies sold a HempTrain Technology & Business License to Quattro- Canna Holdings, which allowed the company to manufacture and distribute HempTrain technology and equipment within theirdelineated territories. The $5.35-million royalty-free licence covers South Africa, where the hemp industry initiative is rapidly gaining strength. Canadian Greenfield Technologies will provide technicalsupport to Quattro in establishing the base for growing the HempTrain business.