Written Evidence submitted by The Unyte Group (SH0007)
Contents
The Unyte Group is a diverse set of businesses that are all focused on the decarbonisation and improvement of human health, specific areas of research we have undertaken are in the areas of soil remediation, bio char, organic wastes for soil improvement and industrial Hemp cultivation.
The Cannabis Industry Council (CIC) was formed in 2020 to be a combined voice for Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp sectors, bringing together various trade bodies, corporate entities, and patient groups. Within the Hemp subgroup there is representation of >95% of the UK Hemp farmers and all the main trade bodies; EIHA, BHA, SHA, NIHA and the CTA.
a) There needs to be an agreed methodology for the measuring, monitoring and verification of soil health, that is approved by the Government/DEFRA. The following elements should be considered for measurements of soil health:
i) Soil Organic Carbon
ii) Soil Organic Matter
iii) Microbiological activity:
(1) Protozoa
(2) Fungi
(3) Bacteria
iv) NPK Levels
b) Some of the barriers to the above measurements are that the current technologies that are commercially operational cannot measure the microbiological activity through laboratory analysis or on an on-site sensor monitoring basis. This means that it is a very labour-intensive operation to assess large land banks, with limited soil scientists trained to the required levels to undertake the physical examination for the microbiological elements. Ideally a call would be launched with Innovate UK and DEFRA to develop in field measurement sensors that can be scaled quickly, to measure the above-mentioned components of the soil’s health. This data can then be logged onto a blockchain platform to ensure transparency and validity of the data, also allowing for the large-scale data collation required to prove the 2030 targets are being achieved.
c) There needs to be a legislative requirement for landowners/managers to analyse the components of their soil health mentioned above, without this only the ones that are interested in soil health/regenerative agricultural practices will comply with the measuring and monitoring, as conventional practices will show a continued degradation of the soil microbiome and health. But this also needs to consider the methodology and sensors required to ensure the data collation is accurate and transparent, which will also allow landowners and managers to access the voluntary Carbon markets, with soil Carbon sequestration credits.
d) No as there is not enough of a focus on existing agricultural land being measured and monitored, only when there is a change of use for the land. There is a risk that we see a considerable conversion of currently productive arable land over to large scale tree planting that will be a risk to the UK food security and resilience.
e) Healthy soil greatly improves the nutrient density of the crops grown within it, therefore there should be a consideration given to legislating food products to label the nutrient density of their products. This will promote the supply chain to source locally produced, nutrient dense products, especially if combined with a Life Cycle Analysis, taking into account soil health, Carbon emissions etc. The positive outcomes will be:
i) Healthier people, due to improved nutrient intake
ii) Healthier soils
iii) Improved local economies
iv) Increased UK supply-chain and therefore resilience and security
f) The removal of the requirement for a licence to cultivate industrial Hemp would be the single biggest change the Government could make, to tackle soil contamination and improve soil health. This is a major barrier to the scaling and therefore large beneficial impact that that cultivation of industrial Hemp can provide. The recently released, Hemp-30 report by York University covers many of the benefits that scaling an industrial Hemp industry would provide, as does the APPG for CBD products, A Plan for a Legal and Regulated UK Hemp and Cannabis Sector.
g) The key benefits of Hemp that we have identified during our 3 years of research crops, covering circa 240 acres of 5 different Cultivars and 11 seed densities, are as follows:
i) 22 tonnes of CO2 sequestered per Hectare, in it’s 4 months growth cycle.
ii) No insecticides or pesticides required; majority of soils don’t require fertilisers either.
iii) Improves the attenuation capacity of the soil, due to the high-density root mass in the rhizome. Reducing flood risks and soil run-off.
iv) Hemp is a hyperaccumulator of contaminates, so cleans the soil, absorbing levels of contaminates that would be phytotoxic to other crops. Therefore, can be used as a sustainable, nature-based solution to cleaning up large areas of contaminated/brownfield land or agricultural land that has been impacted by intensive agricultural practices.
v) Crops that follow Hemp in a rotation, show an increase yield of 16-18%, (Winter Wheat, Spring Barley), due to the deep tap root accessing micro and macro nutrients from depth and allowing following crops access. The high volume of root mass also considerable reduces compaction in the soil, increasing aeration and benefitting the soil health.
vi) Hemp is a late flowering crop so provides a great late season source of pollen for our bees and pollinators. The biodiversity experienced within a UK Hemp field is incredible.
h) The development of a PAS document would ensure that the utilisation of bio char onto agricultural land, for the improvement of soil health, isn’t to the detriment of certain aspects of the soil. Bio char can be produced from multiple different sources of organic material/waste. The risk comes from the potential for certain contaminates present in the feedstock to be concentrated in the bio char, following pyrolysis. These would be present in feedstocks such as grade C waste wood, due to the paints and binders used, which would then negatively impact the soil health and potentially cause harm to human health via ingestion of the crops. There should be a standard development, similar to the EBC standard, which will then protect the UK soil health as the scaling of bio char production continues.
January 2023