A nonfood crop, also known as industrial crop, is a crop grown to produce goods for manufacturing, for example fibre for clothing, rather than food for consumption.[1] [2] [3]
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]
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 | ||
| 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 |