Explainer Series: Stubble Burning

Introduction

The phenomenon of stubble burning has been considered problematic, especially since the past few years. This may be due to it getting coupled with the other modern factors like building construction, vehicle pollution etc.; and then hence, furthering air pollution to a greater extent causing air pollution to a great level. This article seeks to examine the extent, origin, and other nuances related to the "burning of the stubbles".

Stubble Burning is the process of setting the remains of the plants of paddy ablaze, after its harvest. When it comes to India, this is observed mainly in the northern region, specifically the areas of Haryana, Punjab, and western Uttar Pradesh. This is because these areas are the biggest producers of the paddy crop, and that is the reason behind the popularity of this region’s Basmati variety of rice. The stubbles are known as “parali” in the local languages and the burning of parali is considered the most efficient and effective way of clearing the residues of both the paddy and wheat crops once they are reaped.

Main Reason

The root causes behind the farmers opting to blaze the straw stubbles are “cost” and “time”. The time, which remains after the harvesting of paddy crops, for the management of the crop residues is very less for the farmers. This is because they have to start the preparation of the next crop to be sown. The time left to the farmers for the management is more after the reaping of wheat crops in comparison to the rice crops. With more time left, the farmers try to adopt other efficient as well as rigorous methods of removing residues, in order to minimize the pollution. This shows that the farmers never intend to deliberately add to the air pollution.

The next possible factor the farmers take into consideration while adopting the path of burning the remaining stubbles is the “cost”. Burning is one of the cheapest methods of managing the residue. When it comes the to availability of machinery for detaching crop remains from soil the, it is seen that they are very less in number, at the district and block levels. Additionally, the subsidies provided by the government are not sufficient for the farmers to purchase the necessary equipment.

Positive and Negative Impacts

Since stubble burning is an age-old practice, it is implied that it carries some benefits along with it. Some of the benefits have been listed below:

One of the major reasons why it is preferred by the farmers is that burning straw stubbles is an easy method to manage residue, and it does not require a considerable amount of monetary resources.

Stubble burning aids farmers in controlling weeds. Weeds are the unwanted plants that grow along with the crops; and if more than a particular limit, they are harmful to the soil as they take the nutrition from the crops’ part, just like the parasites. The stubble burning also helps control pests, which affect the crops. Another benefit of stubble burning, which has received less attention, is its ability to help provided by it to diminish the levels of nitrogen tie-up to the soil, which is also very important for the farmers.

Along with the positive effects, the phenomenon of stubble burning has some negative impacts as well, and a few of them have been illustrated below:

Although stubble burning controls the level of nitrogen in the soil, a lot of nutrients, which are essential to the crops, are lost in this process. The loss of nutrients not only causes damage to the next set of crops planned to be sown, but it also causes damage by reducing the fertility of the soil. Additionally, the heat that is created due to the blazing of the stubbles that are still attached to the soil gets penetrated into the soil creating loss of moisture and causing damage to the microorganisms that are present under the soil. Thus, resulting in the destruction of the entire land.

The smoke, which is released from the blazing of crop remains, is very harmful as it may create smoggy air which may contribute to accidents. A lot of poisonous gases (like methane) are released because of the burning, which damages the ozone layer. Lastly, there also exists a risk of the fire spreading across other fields. This may result in damage to the crops which have not been harvested yet.

Stance and Solutions by the Government(s)

Several bodies of the government have proposed their solutions upon the question of stubble burning. The first and foremost advice given by the official authorities like the central government, state governments, National Green Tribunal etc is to avoid growing crops like paddy. They have insisted on growing of crops like millets and maize in place of the “traditional” crops like wheat and paddy.

Scientific research institutes have also contributed solutions to stubble burning, by developing equipment, such as the Happy Seeder, to combat it. These machineries slash the straw stubble and then uniformly spread them across the fields. The government has asked the farmers to use them instead of following the practice of stubble burning.

Problem with the solution provided and Conclusion

The solutions proposed by the government authorities have not been satisfactory, and hence, the practice of stubble burning is still prevalent. There is a need to understand the “ground zero problem”, which is why the phenomenon of blazing straw stubbles is still in practice.

The problem is that moving to another set of crops by rejecting the “traditional” crops (like wheat and paddy) is an extreme step. The farmers can even shift to those varieties of crops if they are assured of getting the guaranteed price (that is Minimum Selling Price - MSP). The uncertainty about the price of those relatively less sown crops has caused reluctance among the farmers.

When it comes to the second proposed solution that was proposed, the government authorities should, first of all, try to mitigate the communication gap between themselves and the farmers. The farmers do not receive a sufficient amount of subsidies, which is why they are not able to purchase those “newly discovered equipment”, keeping in mind the current uncertainty about the prices of the crops.

(Image Source: Wikimedia- https://thelogicalindian.com/good-governance/punjab-deploy-over-1-lakh-machines-for-managing-crop-residue-stubble-burning-37352)