Blog

STUBBLE BURNING

STUBBLE BURNING

The Green Revolution transformed the way agriculture was practised in India, especially in Punjab and Haryana. The economics of high-yielding varieties of paddy and wheat, supported by a guaranteed buyer (the government) and minimum support prices led to a crop duopoly, and vitalised the practice of stubble burning. According to an official report, more than 500 million tonnes of parali (crop residues) is produced annually in the country, cereal crops (rice, wheat, maize and millets) account for 70% of the total crop residue. Stubble burning begins around October and peaks in November, coinciding with the withdrawal of southwest monsoon.The prevention of stubble burning is not guaranteed by only banning and punishing the farmers. In order to prevent this from happening in the future, there needs to be a permanent and effective solution.

Issues Associated with Stubble Burning in India

• Environmental Degradation: Stubble burning emits toxic pollutants in the atmosphere containing harmful gases like Carbon Monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC).
• Soil at Risk: Soil becomes less fertile, and its nutrients are destroyed when the husk is burned on the ground. It generates heat that penetrates into the soil, causing an increase in erosion, loss of useful microbes and moisture.
• Climate Change Induced Stubble Burning: The shortened harvesting season due to climate change has forced the farmers to rapidly clear their fields between the kharif and rabi crops, and the quickest of these ways is to burn off the remaining stubble post-harvest.
• Increased Backing, Increased Burning: Policy moves in subsequent decades has included the introduction of subsidies for electricity and fertilisers, and ease of access for credit in agriculture has significantly increased the crop yields and agricultural productivity, that has in turn cemented the issue of stubble burning.

Solutions for Stubble Burning in India

• Post-Harvest Regulation and Incentivisation: There is a need to replicate the schemes like the MGNREGA for harvesting and composting of stubble burning, and regulate post-harvest management at ground level.
• Using Stubble as a Fodder: Wheat stubble can be used as a fodder for cattles, the Tudi, which is made from wheat stubble, is considered to be the best dry fodder for cattle because of its nutritional value.
• Recycling and Reusing Stubble: Stubble can be recycled to make products including paper and cardboard. Also, it can be used as a manure. For example, in Palla village outside Delhi, the Nandi Foundation purchased 800 MT of paddy residue from farmers to turn it into manure. Crop residue can also be used for various purposes like charcoal gasification, power generation, as industrial raw material for production of bio-ethanol.
• Technical Intervention: Microbe Pusa: Several innovative measures have been developed to reduce stubble burning, The Indian Agricultural Research Institute developed a microbe Pusa, that hastens decomposition and converts stubble to compost within 25 days, improving soil quality as a result.
• Happy Seeder: Instead of burning the stubble, a tractor-mounted machine called the Happy Seeder can be used that “cuts and lifts rice straw, sows wheat into the bare soil, and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch.