AN industrial hemp hub could be created in the Hinchinbrook in a bid to diversify the region's economy.
The crop has been identified as an emerging agricultural powerhouse that has the potential to create a multi-million dollar industry in northern Australia.
The Herbert district has been pinpointed as both an ideal growing area and a future processing hub.
Hemp expert and grower Shane Garozzo of SativAus Group has been successfully growing industrial hemp on the Tablelands for several years and said he was getting off three to four crops a year.
He said the Hinchinbrook was ideally placed as a centralised northern hub to expand the industry.
"I found the soils there in the Hinchinbrook very good, the farmers have the skill base and the size of the properties makes it very attractive to farm on scale in that area," Mr Garozzo said.
"It offers a new cropping regimen that could be lucrative for that district.
"That area is very central for processing plants for biofuels, fibre or food products and its within economic transport range from places like Port Douglas to Mackay and out to Innot Hot Springs, as a service area to expand the industry in northern Australia.
"We are looking for a collaborative effort, between farmers and council to bring what could be a $100m new industry into Hinchinbrook."
Mr Garozzo said there was room for several biofuel refineries, two to three large food processing plants and one large fibre processing plant in northern Australia.
"It's a license to print money if someone will invest in a processing plant.
"We have demand that can't be met as we don't have the processing facilities to meet those demands.
"What Sativ group farmers and collaborators is looking to do is put in processing plants into uptake markets.
"The industry can grow straight away, we just need investment in infrastructure.
"We've got the farming base, the climate, we just need to have some infrastructure and the opportunity is here if people who wish to diversify come together."
Hinchinbrook Shire Council Mayor Ramon Jayo said council was looking at ways diversity opportunities for farmers in the renowned sugar cane growing region.
"We've been working on a variety of programs to try to diversify economic activities here," Cr Jayo said.
"Basically we've got sugar cane, but cane is an efficient and highly mechanised industry and the jobs prospects are not great because of that.
"We've been looking at our strengths for quite some time now, particularly what we can do in the agricultural space, to identify alternate crops which could be used in rotation and complimentary to cane to better utilise fallow for cash cropping for cane cycles."
Cr Jayo said industrial hemp was a suitable candidate for its varied uses including for textiles, oil and animal fodder.
He said farmers in the region were also trialling dry land rice, sweet potato, purple potato, taro and were getting more involved with watermelons and pumpkins.
An open night for those wanting to learn more about the crop will be held at the Ingham Bowls Club on Tuesday, October 8 from 5.30pm.
