Eco-friendly farmers in ‘model’ Punjab village don’t burn crop stubble, plough it back to soil

PATIALA: When smoke from burning paddy stubble was choking Delhi last year, one small village near Nabha in Punjab was doing its bit to keep the air clean. Not a straw was burnt in Kalar Majra, where 60 families farm about 700 acres.

“The government chose our village as a model, and gave all the machinery needed to manage the crop residue,” says Bir Dalvinder Singh, a Kalar Majra farmer who persuaded his neighbours to heed the government’s call against burning stubble. Their eco-friendly step even earned praise from the National Green Tribunal.

Although there is no assistance from the government this year, about 70% of Kalar Majra has decided not to burn paddy stubble, with good reason. Ploughing it back into the soil is good not only for Delhi’s air but also the farmers’ bottom line.

Few know this better than Surjeet Singh of Sadhugarh village in Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib district. He hasn’t burnt crop residue on his 45 acres for the past 15 years. “I use a ‘happy seeder’ to manage the stubble, and for the last two harvests I used the straw management system (SMS) of a combine harvester.”

Surjeet had his moments of doubt when costs shot up in the first two years, without any gains. “It appeared to be a bad decision at first,” he said, but perseverance paid off. He started saving on fertiliser and fuel from the third crop onwards. He claims his use of fertiliser has halved. “Despite that my crop yield has increased by at least 20%.”

Parvinder Singh, of Mavi Kalan village near Patran, is another advocate of the happy seeder. It not only saves diesel at the time of tilling, but also water, as the fields don’t need irrigation before sowing. “Yet the yield goes up by 2-2.5 quintals of wheat per acre, as the paddy straw acts as a crop nutrient.”

So, why do most farmers in Punjab still burn their crop residue? Bir Dalvinder, who used to be a techie in Gurugram and has braved Delhi’s yearly smoke episodes, says cost is the main hurdle. Jeet Mohinder of Kularan village in Patiala district agrees, saying residue management costs Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500 per acre in the first two years. “Most farmers consider it a risk, and take the easy way out by burning the stubble.”

Pressure from farmers’ unions is another deterrent, says Bir Dalvinder. “Some marginal farmers have been misled by the kisan unions. They say they will burn the residue if the government does not provide help. But we are trying to persuade them not to fall for the misinformation campaign.”

The government has tried to encourage stubble management with subsidies on equipment, but Jeet Mohinder says it should give farmers financial benefits for the first three years instead. Once the decomposed stubble boosts soil fertility, “farmers will realise the benefits of not burning it. They will be eager to find ways to dispose of it in an environment-friendly way.”