A solution to the problem of disposal of crop residues is very necessary

- Air pollution problem will arise again in next October-November

The paddy harvesting season is almost upon us and there seems to be no way to stop farmers from burning crop residues in any of the rice growing states of North India. Burning of stubble in the National Capital Region in October-November every year poses a serious problem of air pollution.

Burning of crop residues releases large amounts of smoke and toxic gases, causing many serious diseases including eye irritation, respiratory problems. The Delhi and Punjab governments offered to spray paddy fields with a microbial-based decomposer developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, but farmers rejected it as impractical. In fact, this process takes 20 to 25 days for the crop residue to decompose and farmers cannot wait that long to sow the next crop.

The use of crop residue management machinery appears to be a viable solution, but may not be suitable for farmers without financial support due to the additional costs involved. In most of the states they do not get financial assistance.

Now many types of machines are also available which manage paddy waste in less time ensuring timely sowing of next crop. The main reason why farmers burn straw in their field is also that they want to prepare the field on time. Devices like the Happy Seeder and the Super Seeder now plant new crops without removing old crop residues from fields. There are also some large machines that harvest the paddy, break the stalks into pieces and scatter them on the ground or tie them into a bundle. But these machines are very expensive and common farmers cannot afford them. The state government subsidizes the purchase of these machines by cooperative societies and other service providers, but for unknown reasons it does not provide any financial assistance to farmers for their usage charges.

Haryana is the only state which pays Rs 2,500 per acre to the farmers for this purpose but even this amount is very less compared to the actual cost. The earliest and cheapest way for them to prepare fields for new sowing is to set fire to crop residues. In such a situation, it is clear that crop residue burning is an economic problem that requires an economic solution. While wheat stalks are used as fodder for livestock and sold at a good price in the market, paddy residue is not used for animal feed as it contains a hard sandy substance. This is the reason why their price is also not high. Unless rice straw is made economically viable, farmers will not be motivated to spend money to dispose of it in an environmentally safe manner.

The good news is that there is no shortage of potentially beneficial uses for crop residues. With their help, different types of paper and board can be made, the products made from them can replace coal in thermal power plants or they can be converted into biofuels by blending them with petrol.