The recent rebuke of the Supreme Court on stubble-burning has highlighted some critical concerns about paddy cultivation in Punjab, implying that farmers need to consider sowing other crops to tackle the issue head-on.

Stubble burning after paddy harvesting is banned, but it continues to occur frequently in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country. The current solutions to this problem have not been effective. Although a subsidy scheme for employing a stubble residual machine has been implemented, it has had limited success. Most small and medium farmers find it unaffordable.

With only a 10-15-day window between the paddy-harvesting season and the wheat-sowing time, farmers feel compelled to burn the stubble to quickly clear the fields.

The Indian Council of Agriculture Research has claimed success with a bio-decomposer spray called ‘PUSA’, which can decompose most of the stubble into manure in a month. Nevertheless, the use of bio-decomposers in Punjab has not shown favourable results in trials, given the narrow gap for sowing wheat after the paddy harvest.

Commercial model

The current slow progress in curbing stubble burning demands a practical commercial model. Fortunately, some private firms in Punjab have taken the initiative to buy stubble from farmers and produce gas and other by-products in biogas plants. However, these ventures need encouragement from the government to succeed.

In today’s globalised world, it is important to find global solutions to our local problems, such as paddy straw burning. India could learn from other countries’ experiences, where similar bans on crop residue burning failed to persuade farmers. Therefore, relying solely on government initiatives to solve this problem may not be effective.

Also, technical and legal interventions alone are not enough. It’s essential to focus on minimising the costs for farmers who opt for alternative methods of paddy straw disposal and supplementing their sources of income. In Egypt, the government offered an incentive to traders to buy straw from farmers. Suggestions for alternative disposal methods include using it for animal feed, ploughing it back into the field as natural fertilizer, generating bio-energy, and using it as a substrate for mushroom cultivation.

Farmers often find it difficult to stop the age-old practice of stubble-burning. This is because alternative methods of stubble management require additional expenses, which are usually borne by the farmers themselves. The cost of stubble management ranges from ₹5,000-6,000 per acre, but the proposed Central and State incentives of ₹2,500 per acre are currently on hold. However, ignoring the problem is not a solution either. Therefore, it is important to provide farmers with free reaper binders and paddy straw choppers at their farm gates to help them manage stubble effectively.

The State government can help by arranging to procure the stubble along with paddy grain, by hiring balers to work for free for the farmers. This will help them prepare their farms for wheat sowing after paddy harvesting. The stubbles can then be sold to biomass-based power plants, paper mills, and cardboard factories.

In the long run, replacing long-duration paddy varieties with shorter-duration varieties like PUSA Basmati-1509 and PR-126 can help reduce stubble-burning. These varieties can be harvested in the third week of September itself, which will allow ample time for the paddy stubble to decompose, eliminating the need for stubble-burning.

Providing farmers with the necessary assistance and equipment can encourage them to refrain from burning stubble. We all know that stubble retention has many benefits, but it requires a systems approach to manage disease, pest and weed pressure. Farmers need to be educated on how they are harming their farms by damaging the soil’s nutrients.

The writer is Vice-Chairman, Punjab Economic Policy and Planning Board. Views are personal