Stubble burning - Punjab breathes easy as farm fires down by half

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Stubble Burning
• Why Farmers opt for Stubble Burning?
• Areas where stubble burning is rampant
• Impact Of Agriculture Fire
• Steps Taken by the government to tackle this issue
• News Summary: Stubble burning - Punjab breathes easy as farm fires down by half
• Steps taken by Punjab Govt.

Why in news?

• Punjab is breathing easy this year having recorded an over 50 per cent decrease in paddy stubble fires in the ongoing harvesting season as compared to last year.
• From September 15 till October 22, Punjab had reported 1,794 farm fires as against 3,696 such incidents recorded last year.
  • The state had reported more than 4,300 such cases in 2021.
• The government's plan was to reduce paddy stubble burning by over 50% compared to 2022, and to eliminate farm fires in six districts of Punjab.

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.

Areas where this 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.

Impact Of Agriculture Fire

• 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 from the soil.
  • Residue burning has further reduced soils’ organic carbon content

Steps Taken by the government to tackle this issue

• Taken by Centre
  • A Central Sector Scheme on ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanisation 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)
  • Pusa decomposer: 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
  • Sensitising 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: Steps taken by Punjab Govt.

• The Punjab agriculture department drafted a Rs 350 crore plan for subsidized machinery to curb stubble burning.
  • The rate of subsidy for individual farmers is 50% of the cost of equipment, and 80% for cooperative societies.
• The Deputy Commissioners of all districts have held meetings with the farm union leaders.
• As many as 3,000 awareness camps have been organised to deter the farmers from setting stubble ablaze.
• Govt officials worked on ex-situ management of paddy also.
  • Several biomass handling units have been engaged.
  • The brick-kilns have been mandated to use stubble as fuel.

Q1) What is Pusa Decomposer? 

Pusa Decomposer is a microbial solution that can turn paddy straw into manure in 15-20 days. It's a capsule that contains seven fungal species that help break down paddy straw. The fungi produce enzymes that aid in the decomposition process. 

Q2) What is Indian Agricultural research Institute (IARI)?

The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) is India's leading national institute for agricultural research, education, and extension. It's also known as the Pusa Institute. IARI is located in Delhi and is financed and administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It's India's largest institute for research, higher education, and training in agricultural sciences.

Source: Farm fires down by half, Punjab breathes easy