Stubble Burning UPSC

Stubble Burning

What is Stubble Burning ?

Stubble burning is, quite simply, the act of removing paddy crop residue from the field to sow wheat. It’s usually required in areas that use the ‘combine harvesting’ method which leaves crop residue behind. 

What is combine harvesting ? 

Combines are machines that harvest, thrash i.e. separate the grain, and also clean the separated grain, all at once. The problem, however, is that the machine doesn’t cut close enough to the ground, leaving stubble behind that the farmer has no use for.

There is pressure on the farmer to sow the next crop in time for it to achieve a full yield. The quickest and cheapest solution, therefore, is to clear the field by burning the stubble. 

Why are Farmers doing Stubble Burning ? 

Shorter cropping cycles: 

• Multiple cropping and shortened intervals between crops give a very short window of about 10–15 days during which the field needs to be prepared for the next crop. 
• This does not give enough time for farmers to allow straw to be incorporated in the soil or use other methods of disposal. 
• In Punjab, this interval is further shortened by the rules, which delays the sowing of paddy till after the onset of rains to minimize dependence on groundwater for irrigation. 

Increased mechanization of harvesting: 

• The use of mechanized harvesters leaves stubble of 10– 30 cm in the field, depending on the type of crop, which was not the case earlier with manual harvesting. 
• It is too expensive to hire labour to clear this stubble. 

Labour shortage: 

• Use of expensive labour for stubble extraction is not feasible. 
• Costs are especially high in Punjab and Haryana, where farm sizes are large and use of mechanized harvesters is common. 
• Burning of residues is a cheaper and easier option. 

No market for crop residue: 

• The local economy cannot absorb straw any more for roofing of houses etc., as it did earlier. 
• The low commercial and economic value of crop residue, coupled with the high costs of processing, reduces its value for farmers. 
• Although the quantities of residue produced are equivalent to the total crop output, this entire volume of residue has little or no economic value. 
• But it can be raw material for a variety of products that have not been adequately explored yet.

Unless these factors are addressed, any external ban/fine/penalty imposed on crop residue burning will not work. 

Possible solutions for Stubble Burning

The solution to the problem of crop residue burning is fairly well known. But there are several barriers to the implementation of these strategies. The commercial supply chain and ecosystem for alternative utilization is currently nearly non-existent, and needs to be created and sustained through appropriate policy changes. 

Promote agri-implements with subsidy: 

• The cost of agri-implements needed to reduce burning is high. 
• As these implements are used only for two to three weeks a year, farmers do not consider these worth investing. 
• In spite of subsidies, only a small number of farmers can access them hence, the subsidy amount can be augmented. 

Utilize crop-residues fuel in biomass-based power plants: 

• Crop residue can be used as fuel to generate electricity through biomass-based power plants. 
• Such plants aggregate the combustion of crop residues. 
• The emissions from these are much easier to control and mitigate. 

Use of crop residues for production of biofuels and fertilizers: 

• Crop residue contains high concentrations of organic nutrients, which ought to be returned to the soil in order to retain its fertility and yield potential. 

Utilize as raw material for biomass pellets and other uses: 

• Biomass pellets can be sold commercially as the main fuel for industrial boilers and replace coal. 
• Micro-pelletization should be incentivized and its local usage promoted. 

R&D and crop diversification: 

• In the long term, there is a need to develop a range of alternatives. 
• For example, Punjab Agricultural University is developing a variant of paddy straw that has lower silica content, thereby making it suitable for utilization in biomass-based power plants.