A nonfood crop, also known as industrial crop, is a
crop
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropon ...
grown to produce goods for
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
, for example fibre for clothing, rather than
food for consumption.
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.
Diversity
The range of crops with non-food uses is broad, but includes traditional arable crops like
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
, as well as less conventional crops like
hemp and
Miscanthus
''Miscanthus'', or silvergrass, is a genus of African, Eurasian, and Pacific Island plants in the grass family, Poaceae.
; Species
* '' Miscanthus changii'' Y.N.Lee – Korea
* '' Miscanthus depauperatus'' Merr. – the Philippines
* '' Miscant ...
. Products made from non-food crops can be categorised by function:
See also
*
Biofuel
*
Bioplastics
Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. Some bioplastics are obtained by processing directly from natural ...
*
Biopolymer
*
Cash crops
*
Cellulosic biofuel
*
Energy crop
*
Food vs fuel
Food versus fuel is the dilemma regarding the risk of diverting farmland or crops for biofuels production to the detriment of the food supply. The biofuel and food price debate involves wide-ranging views, and is a long-standing, controversial ...
*
Helix of sustainability
The helix of sustainability is a concept coined to help manufacturing industry move to more sustainable practices by mapping its models of raw material use and reuse onto those of nature. The environmental benefits of the use crop origin sustaina ...
*
Intensive crop farming
*
National Non-Food Crops Centre
*
Renewable Energy
References
External links
Industrial Crops and Products Journal
{{Authority control
Crops
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