Stubble Burning Came Down 31.5% from Last Year

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• Stubble Burning – Reasons for its prevalence, Major States practicing it, Impact of stubble burning, efforts to address the issue, suggestions
• News Summary

 

Why in News?

• Stubble burning in Delhi’s neighbouring states has dropped by 31. 5% this harvest season compared with last year, according to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
  • The Commission was set up for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas for better co-ordination, research, identification and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality index.

 

Why Farmers opt for stubble burning?

• Rice and wheat straws left in the field, after combine harvesting, are generally burnt by the farmers to facilitate seed bed preparation and seeding.
• Farmers find this method as quick and cheap compared to other practices for crop residue management.
• Since input costs of farming is going up day by day, farmers are not willing to further invest in equipments useful for crop residue management.
  • Happy Seeder (a tractor-operated machine for in-situ management of paddy stubble) continues to be an expensive method for majority of farmers.

 

What are the areas where stubble burning practice is rampant?

• Burning of agricultural residue is done on a large-scale basis in states such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and National Capital Region of Delhi.
• This is prevalent in other states too. This includes: Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal etc.

 

What are the impacts of stubble burning?

• Environmental Pollution
  • Agriculture fires are a major contributor to air pollution in north India in October-November.
  • Pollutants from these fires spread across the region, triggering smog and extreme air quality situations.
  • An increase in the concentration of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and PM 10 in the atmosphere is observed in these months.
• Harmful to the health of soil
  • Burning of crop residues removes huge amount of nutrient and organic carbon content from the soil.

 

What are the steps taken by the government to tackle stubble burning?

• Taken by Centre
  • A Central Sector Scheme on ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi was approved.
  • Farmers are being provided 50 percent of the cost of machinery/equipment as financial assistance for the purchase of such machinery.
  • The central government has released Rs 3,062 crore to the governments of Punjab, Delhi and states in NCR during the five-year period from 2018 to 2023 towards effective management of stubble.
  • Profit from the left-over biomass is shared with farmers.
• Pusa Decomposer by Indian Agricultural research Institute (IARI)
  • The Pusa decomposer is a bio-enzyme developed by IARI to decompose crop residue.
  • It decomposes stubble within 20-25 days after spraying and turn it into manure, improving the soil quality.
• Taken by State Governments and Other agencies
  • States governments and other agencies are sensitizing farmers on healthier practices.
  • In July 2022, the Punjab government had proposed to provide a cash incentive of Rs 2,500 per acre to farmers for not burning stubble.
  • It also decided to provide non-fiscal incentives to these industries in terms of availability of Panchayat land for storage of paddy straw with lease agreement upto 33 years.

 

News Summary

• The fire count from stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and the NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan has reduced this year compared to 2021.
• The data included paddy crop residue burning events in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and the NCR districts of UP and Rajasthan between Sept 15 and Nov 30.

 

Key highlights

• Statistics for stubble burning
  • Haryana saw the maximum reduction at 47. 6%, followed by Punjab at 30%.
  • The biggest drop in Haryana was reported from Fatehabad district while in Punjab, the sharpest dip was in Ludhiana.
  • The NCR districts of UP, Rajasthan and Delhi recorded a 19. 3% drop in farm fires.
• Reasons behind the positive result this year
  • Optimum use of crop residue management machines for in-situ management of stubble;
  • A significant increase in ex-situ application of stubble, like using it for co-firing in thermal power plants and industrial boilers or generation bio-ethanol production.

Image Caption: Stubble burning statistics

 

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Q1) What are some alternatives to crop burning?

Instead of burning the stubble, it can be used in different ways like cattle feed, compost manure, roofing in rural areas, biomass energy, mushroom cultivation, packing materials, fuel, paper, bio-ethanol and industrial production, etc.

 

Q2) Which gases are released by stubble burning?

Stubble burning is a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and hydrocarbons (HC)

 

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