Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 8

After attending a Kisan Mela at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in 2012, Subeg Singh, a farmer from Mallunangal village, stopped burning crop residue in fields.

Within a few years, he emerged as a lighthouse for farmers in his village and in 2015 a number of farmers of Mallunangal village stopped stubble burning and adopted various methods of straw management in their fields.

Subeg Singh said: “After getting enlightened about the environmental crisis and loss of soil health, I contacted experts at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Naag Kalan. I asked them to provide some alternatives to manage straw in fields. Dr Raminder Kaur from KVK helped a lot. She provided a happy seeder and motivated to cultivate wheat crop without tillage. That saved my cost on tillage and I also procured good yield. Next year, other farmers from my village got motivated and around 125 acre land was cultivated with happy seeders. The area under happy seeders and zero tillage is increasing year by year.”

Singh is a graduate and took to agriculture in 1984. “I was never interested in stubble burning but there was no awareness and alternatives. Now, the government is expressing concern and the Agriculture Department provides several alternatives. There is no need to burn crop residue in fields. It not only pollutes environment, but also impacts field soil.”

With the help of the Agriculture Department, farmers from Mallunangal led by Subeg Singh constituted a cooperative society and bought several machines for straw management. The government gave 80 per cent subsidy on these straw management machines including happy seeder, stubble chopper, mould board plough and zero tillage drill.

“Agriculture experts and senior officers of the department from Chandigarh and Delhi often visit our fields and discuss the issues with us. PAU, KVK and the Punjab Government awarded me on various occasions. Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) Gurpreet Singh Aulakh and other officials in the district always support and motivate me,” Subeg Singh said.