New
Delhi, Nov 7: The tussle between the Centre and state governments over who
will invest in mechanising stubble removal is prolonging the problem of straw
burning which has led to alarming rise in pollution levels in the NCR region,
agriculture sources. Stubble burning is basically done by farmers to instantly remove the residue
from the previous harvest to prepare the field for the next crop. Farmers in
Punjab and Haryana are resorting to straw burning after harvesting paddy to sow
early variety of wheat in the ongoing rabi season.
The Punjab government has been raising the issue of stubble burning with the
Centre. Recently when Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was in Delhi, he
raised the issue with Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. Punjab and Haryana farmers maintain that rice is not the staple diet of the
state. They started growing paddy in the 60's only to meet the requirement of
the Central government for distribution of rice under the Public Distribution
System and therefore, the Central government should invest in stubble removal
machines which may have to be imported. The burning of stubble forms a residue that is high in carbon-dioxide and the
carbon particles combined with moisture (dew) in winters become potent.
"The only way to prevent stubble burning by farmers is to invest in modified and modern combine-harvester machines that not only shred the straw and mulch it, but also sequesters it to work as compost in the field," sources said. The problem of paddy stray burning is more acute in Punjab which grows as much 2.8 million tonnes of non-Basmati rice and is the major contributor to the central pool. Punjab and Haryana farmers use combine-harvesters to harvest their crop through custom hiring which leaves straw and weeds in the field. While other states may use the straw as fodder, the progressive farmers in these states grow green manure to take care of fodder needs of cattle. According to experts, experiments to use straw and farm residue for generation of energy too did not take off as the there were silicon deposits in the boilers and the requisite temperature of electricity could not be achieved. UNI
"The only way to prevent stubble burning by farmers is to invest in modified and modern combine-harvester machines that not only shred the straw and mulch it, but also sequesters it to work as compost in the field," sources said. The problem of paddy stray burning is more acute in Punjab which grows as much 2.8 million tonnes of non-Basmati rice and is the major contributor to the central pool. Punjab and Haryana farmers use combine-harvesters to harvest their crop through custom hiring which leaves straw and weeds in the field. While other states may use the straw as fodder, the progressive farmers in these states grow green manure to take care of fodder needs of cattle. According to experts, experiments to use straw and farm residue for generation of energy too did not take off as the there were silicon deposits in the boilers and the requisite temperature of electricity could not be achieved. UNI
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