As the winter season begins in the north of India, pollution levels have started to rise drastically due to a very common yet environment threatening activity known as paddy stubble burning.

Due to this activity, air quality decreases in areas of Delhi, Punjab affecting the whole north of India. Both state and central government have taken measures to tackle this problem. Delhi Government led by CM Arvind Kejriwal. He has repeatedly come up with new provisions like easy availability of loans for electric vehicles, odd-even policy and more.

In order to plant next winter crop, farmers in Northern India have to move in a very short interval and if they are late they might face considerable losses. Burning is the cheapest and fastest way to get rid of the stubble. Further, if stubble is left in the field, pests like termites may attack the upcoming crop. Also, the precarious economic condition of farmers doesn’t allow them to use expensive mechanised methods to remove stubble.

In 2019, the governments of Punjab and Haryana announced Rs 2,500/acre as a bonus to small farmers who avoid burning stubble but there has been the negligible implementation of this scheme.

Implementation of the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act (2009) made the time period of stubble burning coincident with the onset of winter in Northern India. Late transplanting of paddy during Kharif season to prevent water loss as directed by PPSW Act (2009) had left farmers with little time between harvesting and preparing the field for the next crop and hence farmers are resorting to the burning of stubble.

The costs of establishing a year-round “bankable” supply chain for paddy straw bales is another deterrent. Albeit with limitations related to off take agreements, the National Policy on Biofuels was not able to achieve intended targets. Increasing Competition With Solar & Wind Energy, the government has actively supported the biomass power sector by provisioning for a high feed-in tariff. However, tariff orders for biomass gasifier/biogas power became inconsequential with solar and wind power tariffs declining to 33% of that of biomass power.

On-field Management involves mulching the stubble into fields by machinery. In order to promote mulching there is a need for subsidy for purchasing equipment.

Need of the hour is establishing Farm Machinery Banks for custom hiring of in-situ crop residue management machinery. Co-operative societies of farmers, self-help groups, registered farmers societies/farmers groups, private entrepreneurs for establishment of farm machinery banks or custom hiring centres.

There is also a need to promote alternatives to wheat and rice, which could be the cultivation of silage crops (hybrid sorghum, hybrid napier grass, maize). These alternatives have a high yield, which enables farmers to meet the feedstock needs of cattle, can also be used to produce biofuels plants and the cultivated area can be interspersed with horticulture.

In order to establish a biomass depot, there should be fiscal incentives for enabling green entrepreneurship. Stubble should be used for production of gaseous biofuels like producer gas, biogas and green hydrogen. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas’s Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation SATAT scheme is a step in the right direction.

Even though there are various subsidies and bonuses given to farmers. They seem reluctant to change their existing ways due to income security. They are hesitant of what the change would bring in. Farmers also face a huge financial drawback at investing in expensive machinery. Sticking to old ways of farming seems like a better option to them. Even though there the government provisions better implementation is in needed. Farmers also need to be educated that stubble waste can be beneficial to them like Mulching carbon-rich stubble impacts soil C:N ratio, necessitating proper nitrogenous fertiliser management apart from the potential surface accumulation of potassium.

The Punjab Agriculture University definitely has solutions but adoption by millions of farmers requires calibrated implementation and enormous extension services. Farmers need to be educated about the impacts of high pollution levels and adverse effect on environment.