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Not a waste until wasted

Punjab farmers burn straw after harvest. It is time to exploit the potential of
this agro-waste

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By Jyotika Sood
Last Updated: Monday 17 August 2015

Not a waste until wasted

Plumes of smoke arising from the fields is a common sight in

Punjab during rice harvesting season. In the months of
October-November it almost asphyxiates anyone who ventures
out of house, be it a village or city. Reason: paddy stubble
burning.

Burning of rice straw remains emits trace gases like carbon

dioxide, meth ane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur
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oxide and large amount of particulate matters, which adversely
Not a waste until wasted https://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/not-a-waste-until-waste...

Burning of rice straw remains emits trace gases like carbon

dioxide, meth ane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur
oxide and large amount of particulate matters, which adversely
affect human health as well as the environment. Last year, the
magnitude of stubble burning was so high that it received
international attention. The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) released a satellite image showing large
number of fires across millions of hectares of agriculture fields
in Punjab.

Farmers in the state complain that rice straw is a huge problem

for them because they follow mechanised agriculture. “When
you harvest rice by a combine harvester, it leaves a significant
length of straw on the field,” says Rajinder Kumar Sama, a
farmer from Abohar district. So crop residues in combine-
harvested fields are burnt. Besides, explains Sarabjit Singh from
Ghanaour village in Patiala district, both wheat and rice are
long-duration crops. With a short period available between rice
harvesting and wheat plantation, burning is the easiest and
quickest way to get rid of rice straw. Singh adds that increasing
labour cost is another reason farmers prefer setting fire to their
vast swathes of paddy fields after they have harvested the crop.

After China, India is the world’s largest producer of paddy. India

produces 98 million tonnes of paddy with roughly 130 million
tonnes of straw. Of this, about half is used as animal fodder.
The rest is mostly burned in the fields, though a small amount
is also consumed by brick kilns and paper and packaging
industry. Despite such huge amou nts of rice straw generation,
farmers in the country are yet to realise the potential of this
agro-waste in terms of manure and as a profitable raw material
for various industries.

2 of 4 Where’s the profit? 9/28/2018 4:55 PM

Not a waste until wasted https://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/not-a-waste-until-waste...

for various industries.

Where’s the profit?

Sama says on an average one gets about two tonnes of rice

straw per acre (0.4 hectare). “The combine owner or operator
charges an additional Rs 850 per acre for harvesting that
leftover portion which is of no use to us,” says Sama. It cannot
be even fed to the cattle. Blades of fodder cutter easily get
blunt by the thick and sharp straw.

Sama adds that in his area only brick kilns buy rice straw, but
they are limited. Besides, selling rice straw to kilns is not
profitable. “They pay us Rs 600-Rs 700 a tonne, which means
we get Rs 1,200-Rs 1,400 per acre. Now subtract Rs 850 rental
cost of the combine harvester and transportation cost of Rs 300,
which is borne by the farmer, from the amount. All we get is
between Rs 50 and Rs 250. Where is the profit?”

Daljeet Singh, another farmer from Patiala says, “Of late, power
companies are approaching us to buy rice straw. They are
offering between Rs 500 and Rs 700 a tonne. Last year, the
paper and packaging industry had bought straw for Rs 1,400-Rs
1,700 a tonne.” That was a one-off deal though. In the absence
of assured returns, farmers find stubble burning an economic
way of managing the agro-waste.

Back in soil

Every year about 12 million tonnes of rice straw is burned in

Punjab. Accor ding to O P Rupela, former soil microbiologist at
the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT), this leads to nutrient loss from the soil
which is equivalent to US $18 million worth of urea. Rupela,
along with scientists from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU),
has developed a simple and rapid composting technique to
convert huge piles of rice straw into organically rich soil.

Rice straw compost can

increase crop yield by
4-9%. When applied as
mulch it helps maintain
soil fertility

O P Rupela,
former soil microbiologist, ICRISAT
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Not a waste until wasted https://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/not-a-waste-until-waste...

O P Rupela,
former soil microbiologist, ICRISAT

It takes about 45 days to prepare this rice straw compost which helps
conserve nitrogen and other nutrients contained in the straw, he says.

The compost contains 1.7 to 2.1 per cent of nitrogen, 1.5 per cent
phosphorous and 1.4 to 1.6 per cent potassium. It helps improve crop
yield by 4 to 9 per cent. “But the problem was that farmers found it
labour-intensive,” says the soil scientist.

A PAU scientist, who does not wish to be named, agrees with Rupela.
“The problem with Punjab farmers is they want quick solutions. That is
why the rice straw compost was not adopted in our state as well as in
neighbouring Haryana.”

Rupela offers another use of rice straw—mulching. In this method, straw

is spread across the soil surface and allowed to decompose naturally
into the soil by the activity of worm and other organisms. “A few farmers
in Punjab have adopted it. Farmers in Andhra Pradesh, another rice
growing state, have also resorted to this method as it helps maintain soil
fertility,” says Rupela, adding that crops like pigeon pea, soybean and
maize are easily grown even with mulch on surface.

But environment-friendly agriculture asks for extra effort and time. With
farming becoming less remunerative, farmers are looking for easy and
quick solutions. This is perhaps the reason burning of rice straw
continues unabated across Punjab despite advisories by agricultural
universities and the district administration and FIRs by agriculture officers
against erring farmers.

Power industry offers a way out

For the past two years, people in villages in the radius of 25 kilometres
around Ghanaour village of Patiala are witnessing relief from choking air
during harvesting seasons. Complaints of respiratory problems have also
reduced. This is attributed to hundreds of farmers who decided to sell
their rice straw to a power company, Punjab Biomass Power Ltd (PBPL)
in Ghanaour.

The company’s agents had approa ched

the farmers to harvest the straw for a
dividend in cash. The proposal was luring
enough, but farmers had strict time
constraints.

The company offered its own machinery

to harvest and collect straw on time so that farmers do not get delayed
for the next crop. Farmers agreed. Last year PBPL generated 12 MW
while helping farmers reduce the pollution levels considerably (see box).

S Y Mehta, plant head of PBPL, says, “A 12 MW rice-straw power plant

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