STRAW BURNING & ITS SOLUTIONS: BRAINSTORMING SESSION IN DELHI

STRAW BURNING & ITS SOLUTION: BRAINSTORMING SESSION IN DELHI

More than 80 millions of Northern Indian populations are facing the smog choking in the cities since past few years back. The toxic effect of Diwali firecrackers and Paddy Straw burning smog are still depositing in the NCR & up to entire Himalayan foothills. Since paste 2016, the straw burning and its accumulated effects in Delhi NCR, which not only limits to health and environment hazard but also question on policy and Governance in the North Plains.

Agro World 2019 was held in Delhi from 5^th to 8^th November. In 7^th Nov 2019 late evening, enthralling brainstorming session held in NASC PUSA, lead by eminent panel members from ICAR Scientists, IAS Officers, CEOs-TAFE, Chair-ICFA, Academia, Corporate & Industries such as Apollo Tyres, Mahindra and Mahindra, New Holland, Leader farmers from Bharitya Kisan Union, & the delegates.

Why the farmers burnt the paddy straw?

Rice is cultivated in 1 million ha in Haryana and 0.12 million ha in Punjab with productivity of 2-4 tons per hectare. However, when its time to harvest straw, the farmers are very reluctant concerning expenses, and the low room for land preparation for upcoming season. With no other option left, the straws are burnt.

Leader Farmer in Panel Discussion Mr. Yudh Bir Singh mentioned “Punjab and Haryana is technically not a Paddy belt, neither a paddy straw is preferred by the livestock. The farmers psychologically think paddy straw a poor feed. Therefore they burnt straw”. Policy and scientific panel mentioned that “West Bengal, Kerala, South India, North East India, often in Nepal, farmers grow rice at massive scale, but they safely store paddy straw for animal feed. Due to export potential as well as dry and stress tolerance varieties development, farmers are rapidly growing the paddy. The increase subsidy of electricity and water also make ease for them to utilize as much water needed for rice farming. The reason to burn paddy is due to competitive time frame to sow wheat immediately after harvesting of the rice”. Even in the Green revolution paddy was not a choice to grow in this belt. Recent policy in resources, inputs, as well as MSP has clearly motivated farmers to cultivate paddy.

Major concerns and the potential solutions?

The major concerns in the panel discussion was logistics – transport cost; finance in alternative energy - logistics and supply chain; incorporation of straw in the soil – and best agronomic choices; policy – to reform cropping pattern, market policy, intervention in MSP; startups and entrepreneurship.

Logistics were the major issues which indeed leads farmers to burn the straw. Farmers are totally aware about the usages and economic value of straw. Scientist mentioned that farmers even feel like burning themselves while burning straw & this is also equivalent to burning cash. “The wheat straw is being feed, store and often transport to nearby location often upto Rajasthan but why not paddy straw? Time has came to reform the policy mainly in the subsidy”, some of the panelist highlighted. Farmers’ participants on the other hand were disappointed by those remarks. Farmers often mentioned that the rice is not indeed too much water consuming but it can be easily managed these days via soil moisture management techniques and growing new varieties. In fact, it has become the better choice for income & exported to various countries. Soil moisture maintenance must be promoted to counter water consumption via flood irrigation. Some of the scientist also analyzed export of rice is equivalent to invisible transportation of water to overseas or price equivalent to potential import of water. To produce 1 Kg of rice, it is believed that nearly 4000 liters of water is spent. “Water resources declination has reached to the tipping point; hence from the water management perspective as well, shifting to alternative crop and opt to stress tolerant crops need to incorporate in the policy”, panel discussion stressed.

Farm mechanization industrialist expressed their interest to develop small scale and affordable machine to be installed in the tractor to cut straw and mix in the field while land preparation for upcoming crops.

The In-situ baling machine and the usage to create raw material would be later used in various cottage industries to prepare feed, furniture, packaging material, textiles, etc. The raw material should be in such a form that it can be easily transported. Use of the straw in energy sector such as coal was proposed yet, the installation cost is very high which dilute sustainability.

The delegate scientists denied the use of straw incorporation in the field as a better idea, which would create new soil borne diseases and burning straw kills beneficial soil micro organisms. Thirty percent of the rice crops are utilized in a form of grains while 70% are destroyed. Instead of destroying, there would be large potential areas to use straw for instance, in mulching, mushroom farming, fibers, textile, paper, even using in potential innovation such as straw cum polymer used tyres which was thought provoking advice to Apollo Tyres. It was also suggested not to blame farmers for pollution, neither dictating them can stop these overnight, but to focus on innovation, in-situ management or win-win policy intervention.

Hence the awareness of farmers, reviving extension activities, policy reform in MSP; logistics or storage of straw to feed livestock; changing cropping pattern such as cultivation of pluses, corn, millets instead of paddy; rice seed & supply reform in straw burning belt; startups in straw management and innovation such as feed, housing material, energy, fiber are the potential scope.

Many decisions in agriculture were also found regretted after some point of time. Lastly, the policy should not disturb the value chain stakeholders, mainly farmers’ sentiments and their livelihood. The public health and environment consciousness shall never be ignored. Holistic participation from the various walks of life, government bodies often political participation is needed to pass the sustainable solution as soon as possible.

Sanjeev Adhikari [sanjeevadhikari.ag@gmail.com]

7-8 Nov 2019

NASC - PUSA, NEW DELHI

Author holds BSc & MBA – Food and Agriculture, & has worked in Corporate, NGOs and Governments in Agricultural Projects such as seed business, organic agriculture, socioeconomic researches, business incubation, value added food products, developmental project management, natural resources management & social sectors.