Industrial crop

An industrial crop, also called a non-food crop, is a crop grown to produce goods for manufacturing, for example fibre for clothing, rather than food for consumption.[1][2][3]

Purpose

Industrial crops is a designation given to an enterprise that attempts to raise farm sector income, and provide economic development activities for rural areas. Industrial crops also attempt to provide products that can be used as substitutes for imports from other nations.[4]

Diversity

The range of crops with non-food uses is broad, but includes traditional arable crops like wheat, as well as less conventional crops like hemp and Miscanthus. Products made from non-food crops can be categorised by function:

Function Products Crop examples
Biofuels and bioenergy (energy crops) Bioethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel, syngas and bioenergy Algae, Buchloe dactyloides, Jatropha, and switchgrass
Building and construction Hemp-lime building materials, Straw building materials, Insulation, Paints, varnishes Hemp, wheat, linseed (flax), bamboo
Fiber Paper, cloth, fabric, padding, string, twine, and rope Coir, cotton, flax, hemp, manila hemp, papyrus, sisal
Pharmaceuticals (traditional) and therapeutic proteins (novel) Drugs, botanical and herbal medicines, nutritional supplements, plant-made pharmaceuticals Borage, Cannabis sativa, Echinacea, Artemisia, Tobacco
Renewable biopolymers Rubber, Plastics and packaging Rubber, Wheat, maize, potatoes
Speciality chemicals Essential oils, printing ink, paper coatings Lavender, oilseed rape, linseed, hemp

See also

References
  1. "Industrial Crop Production (journal)". Grace Communications Foundation. 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  2. "Author Information Pack". INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS An International Journal. Elsevier. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  3. Cruz, Von Mark V.; Dierig, David A. (2014). Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts. Springer. pp. 9 and passim. ISBN 978-1-4939-1447-0.
  4. Wilson, Paul N.; James C. Wade; Julie P. Leones (2006). "The economics of commercializing new industrial crops". Agribusiness. 11: 45–55. doi:10.1002/1520-6297(199501/02)11:1<45::AID-AGR2720110106>3.0.CO;2-H. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
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