Every winter, Delhi and North India experience severe air pollution due to smoke, turning cities into “gas chambers.”

• However, the farmers in Punjab and Haryana contribute only 30% to the smog; the remaining 70% comes from industries, construction dust, and vehicular emissions.

About Stubble Burning

• The practice involves setting fire to leftover paddy stubble after harvest to quickly clear fields.
• Reasons For Stubble Burning: 
  • Time Constraints: Fields must be cleared and wheat sown within seven days.
  • Cost and Speed: Burning is the cheapest and fastest method to handle around 20 million tonnes of stubble annually.
  • Soil Degradation: Intensive cropping cycles have depleted soil organic matter and lowered water tables, aggravating agricultural stress.

Existing Solutions To Tackle Stubble Burning

• Technological Interventions: 
  • Happy Seeder & Super Seeder: Machines that sow wheat seeds without removing stubble.
  • Pusa Decomposer: ICAR-developed bio-liquid that converts stubble into compost in 25 days.
• Government Support:
  • Funding: Over ₹1,000 crore allocated to Punjab; machinery subsidies of 50–80%.
  • Outcome: Stubble burning incidents fell 55% between 2016 and 2023 (NASA data).
    Challenge: Many farmers distrust machinery or decomposers, fearing crop delays or losses.

Way Forward

• Farmer-Led Demonstration: Conduct demonstration plots on progressive farmers’ fields using Happy Seeders or Pusa Decomposer to build trust and encourage adoption.
• Incentives/Bonus: Provide substantial per-acre bonuses to farmers who refrain from burning stubble, similar to European models, to motivate compliance through positive reinforcement.
• Risk Coverage/Insurance: Offer 1–2 years of crop insurance or risk guarantees to reassure farmers that any loss from using new machinery or decomposers will be compensated.
• Farmer-to-Farmer Training: Engage experienced farmers as trainers, leveraging their practical knowledge and credibility to educate peers more effectively than official instructors.
• Access to Machinery: Establish cooperative machinery banks so farmers can rent expensive equipment affordably, addressing the limitations of subsidies and ensuring widespread access.
• Adopt Regenerative Farming: Focus on restoring soil health for sustainable agriculture.

Conclusion

The narrative must change: farmers should be seen as ‘part of the solution,’ not the problem. By transforming stubble from waste into a valuable resource, India can simultaneously protect the environment and enhance agricultural productivity.

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