No cost-effective alternative to manage crop waste, say farmers
KARNAL:Repeated warnings, registration of FIRs, setting up of custom hiring centres and awareness campaigns are no deterrent for farmers who say they have no other option but to burn paddy stubble owing to lack of technology for its management and no cash incentive to dispose it of scientifically.
Farmers say setting their fields on fire was the best and cheapest way to get rid of tonnes of paddy straw (15 quintals per acre). “Burning paddy straw costs nothing and it is the cheapest solution to get rid of crop waste,” says an elderly farmer of Karnal’s Ramba village.
The machines provided by the government to manage paddy stubble are beyond the reach of small farmers as they have to incur additional expenditure of ₹1,500 to ₹2,000 per acre, he says.
COMBINE HARVESTERS ROOT CAUSE OF MENACE
Combine harvesters without straw management system are the root cause of stubble burning.
Stubble burning was not a problem in areas where crop was harvested manually. “It is difficult to manage the crop waste left by combine harvesters sans straw management system. Farmers prefer traditional harvesters as they have to shell out ₹500 to ₹1,000 extra for machines with straw management system, says Sandeep Kumar, owner of a combine harvester.
Nearly 50% of the paddy produced in the state is harvested by combines and most of these do not have straw management system. “The government should ensure that all harvesters install straw management system without changing extra from farmers,” said Rishi Pal, a farmer.
Senior official of the Haryana agriculture department Pawan
Sharma said: “There is no problem with the new combine harvesters but the installation of straw management system in old machines remains a challenge.”
FALL IN BASMATI PRICES
Farmers also blame the fall in prices of basmati varieties for stubble burning as they said that area under the basmati has decreased. “Basmati is harvested manually but most of the other varieties are harvested with combines,” said Pradeep Meel, deputy director, agriculture.
INCENTIVISE MARGINAL FARMERS
Agriculture experts also blame poor government policy for failure to check farm fires. Every year, the government announces subsidies and launches awareness drives but to no avail. The subsidised machines provided by the government for the management of crop waste fail to attract small farmers as they don’t find it economical, they say.