Nonfood crop

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

Purpose of industrial crops

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, as well as less conventional crops like hemp and Miscanthus. Products made from non-food crops can be categorised by function:

Function:	Products:	Examples of crops used:
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	Plastics and packaging	Wheat, maize, potatoes
Speciality chemicals	Essential oils, printing ink, paper coatings	Lavender, oilseed rape, linseed, hemp

Compare with

• Cash crops
• Cellulosic biofuel

See also

• Biofuel
• Bioplastics
• Biopolymer
• Energy crop
• Food vs fuel
• National Non-Food Crops Centre
• Renewable Energy
• Helix of sustainability

Sources

• Industrial Crop Organizations, Purdue University listing.
• Improved methods for extraction and quantification of resin and rubber from guayule, A Science Direct article on increased rubber production.