PUNJAB, Haryana, and Haryana have made significant progress in raising awareness about stubble burning. Farmers are well aware that the environment and soil are not best served by burning crop residue. Buses, posters, media, FM stations, and other high-decibel advertising campaigns have all played a role in raising awareness about this problem.
However, crop residue burning is rising despite crores of rupees being funneled by state governments into the subsidy system. People who know the realities on the ground know that farmers don’t want to cause environmental destruction. The farmer community knows what is best for it. Instead of being forced to use one technology, farmers need a variety of solutions.
The stubble management campaign has been reduced down to a Happy Seeder campaign. It would have been better to let farmers choose the technology and solution they want, with the general thrust of ‘no burning.’ There are many options, and the burning of forests will slow down. The problem is that farmers are often confused about which solutions to choose. Their landholdings are small, so they don’t know many viable options.
Happy Seeders can cause problems for farmers. Another problem is the non-availability of SMS-fitted harvester combine. The SMS (straw management) is required to operate a combine. The SMS attachment is too costly, according to combine owners. They cannot pass the increased harvesting costs on to their users as it increases the cost. The SMS cannot be fitted to tractor-mounted harvesters. In Punjab and Haryana, a large number of harvesters is tractor-mounted. This large number of tractors can be replaced at the cost of several hundred thousand rupees.
Some farmers are hesitant to adopt the turbo Happy Seeder because they feel it will require them to alter their traditional agronomic practices. This includes the timing of last irrigation, the method and timing of urea applications, and the timing of the application. They cannot afford to have a lower yield with such small landholdings.
The government needs to understand that farmers find it very difficult to unlearn. The policy should be flexible. The state should encourage Happy Seeders, where SMS is unnecessary and anchored straws are not an issue.
The Happy Seeder (Punjab Agricultural University, or PAU) is a good choice for sowing without anchored stubble. The farmer can then use a regular cutter spreader and the PAU Happy Seeder. The farmer should make the final decision.
The Reversible Mouldboard (MB) plow allows you to plow crop residue into the soil.
Paper mills, cardboard factories, and biomass-based power plants use straw bales. These straw management machines include slashers (rakes), swathers, balers, and swathers. There are not enough rakes or balers for farmers.
Biochar is the way
Biochar is a good alternative to straw management. Farmers can use it in their fields. This process requires very little space or investment. Biochar is applied to rice or wheat at a rate of 2 tonnes per acre. It reduces urea intake by one-third and produces 10% more green yield. The soil’s health after three years has also been significantly improved. Biochar improves soil retention and reduces the number of nutrients in the soil. It also helps to prevent soil nutrients from being leaked into the groundwater. Biochar can reduce environmental pollution by 60% to 70%
Senior soil chemist at PAU Ludhiana Dr. R K Gupta says that biochar can be made by burning rice straw in an open kiln. The kiln should be 10 feet in diameter and 14 feet high. The kiln must be capable of holding 12 quintals of rice straw and converting it into biochar in 6.5 quintals within 10-12 hours.
You have two options for dealing with crop residue: in situ or ex-situ. Ex-situ options include the use of rice straw to feed cattle. Wheat straw and rice straw have almost the same nutritive values. However, cattle owners in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh prefer wheat straw to rice straw. Because of its low nutritional value, straw is not suitable for cattle feed.
To improve the cattle feed, crop residue must be overcome. Rice straw’s high levels of silica, lignin, and low levels of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals are the key factors that inhibit bacterial degradation in the Rumen. Different methods and means can be used to increase the rice straw’s feeding value. Additional nutrients can also be added to the animal’s diet.
Rice straws: Making the most of them
RAJUVAS (Rajasthan University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences), Bikaner has investigated the nutritive potential of rice straw and how it can be improved. Rice straw is high in polysaccharides. It also has a high level of lignin, silica, and other nutrients. This reduces voluntary intake and decreases degradability by ruminal bacteria. Rice straw has higher levels of oxalates which reduce calcium absorption.
Urea can also be used to treat rice straw. It dissolves in water and releases ammonia. Urea is safer than aqueous or anhydrous ammonia for practical farming use. Urea treatment can also provide nitrogen (crude proteins) to rice straw low in nutrients. Urea treatment is more effective for rice varieties that have low degradability than straw of higher quality. It increases the in vitro dry material degradability from 45 percent to 55 to 62%. Urea treatment is most appropriate for small-scale farmers who want to improve straw quality, especially varieties with low degradability.
Rice straw is high in nitrogen and hard to degrade. A ration of rice straw can be supplemented with a protein source or a more readily available energy source to improve animal performance and production. The rumen function may be improved by supplementing a rice straw ration with protein, energy, and/or minerals. This will increase rice straw’s use and maximize its consumption.
Preparation of feed blocks
A complete feed block refers to a system that provides all ingredients for animal nutrition, including roughage. It is made available to animals with no prior preparation. Readymade, densified complete foods with fibrous crop residues are a great way to increase intake and enhance nutrient utilization.
Silage is a product made from grass, or other green fodder, that has sufficient moisture. It is usually stored anaerobically, often in a silo, to prevent spoilage. Silage is characterized by rapid pH decline and maintenance of anaerobic conditions during the ensiling process.
For meat, buffalo calves are raised.
India is the largest exporter of buffalo meat in the world. About 95 percent of India’s total meat exports are made from buffalo meat. This is approximately 1.7 million tonnes. Because buffalo meat is high-protein, low in cholesterol and fat, and has fewer calories than other red meats, it is highly sought after in many Asian and European countries. Dr. Manju Wadhwa from Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, says that buffalo can be fed on paddy straw as a base ration. Buffaloes can gain 500 g per day from urea-treated paddy straw-based full feed.
Rice straw pellets
Rice straw pellets with or without any other feed ingredients are dense enough to be transported efficiently. This allows rice straw to be handled more easily using the existing transport infrastructure and storage methods. The critical gaps in the supply chain and biomass value are filled by the nutrient-rich pellets. GADVASU makes this technology affordable, and farmers can easily train to use it instead of burning it.
Paddy straw is the ideal bedding material for dairy animals. High-quality fertilizer is made by combining straw with animal urine or dung. A 60-day study at GADVASU’s dairy farm found that winter bedding with a thickness of 30 cm increased milk yield by 17.1%. The increase in milk yield with 20-cm thick bedding was 5.3%. In 30-cm bedding, the bodyweight gained was 0.75 percent. Animals without bedding lost 1.27 percent during this period.
An analysis of rice production in different states has shown that the crop-to-residue/stubble ratio ranges from 1-1.5 to 1. While the South and East use rice crop residue for dry cattle feed, we in Punjab and Haryana light it.
Other low-cost options are also available. In Punjab and Haryana, there are over 1,000 registered gaushalas. There are also many unregistered Gaushalas in Punjab and Haryana, as well as government-sponsored cattle pools. They are all managed by not-for-profit and social organizations. These organizations are often financially challenged and dependent on charity. Gaushalas can reduce their costs by training them to use rice straw dry fodder, urea treatment, or silage. Rice straw can be used in large quantities without the need to transport it. Gujjars are well aware that they feed their milch animal’s dry fodder made from rice straw without any drop in milk production.
The government should provide benefits for rice straw manufacturers who use it to make end products such as cardboard, packaging material, and paper.
This is the perfect example of a laser land-leveler. All machines in the conservation agriculture portfolio were launched at the same time. The laser land leveler had four times the area of a wheeled leveler. This technology was adopted by farmers within one year, and they did not receive any subsidy because of its immense benefits. They found the cost-benefit ratio very favorable and easy to comprehend.
The government shouldn’t force farmers to use a single technology. They should choose whether they want to use Happy Seeder with no SMS or wheat sowing with Happy Seeder and no anchored stubble.
Intervention and government subsidies prove counterproductive. They drive up prices for machines, such as in the Happy Seeder case or the subsidy-approved farm machines.
If the government fulfills its role as an enabler, solutions to zero stubble burning can be achieved. Each solution has its pros and cons. To successfully adopt technology, farmers need to be guided. Farmers need to be aware that each new technology or machine has its challenges. This can cause anxiety. The entire range of options available for crop residue should be made available to farmers. These issues require that the government improves its extension services.
Farmers can receive a non-burning bonus to encourage stubble burning. Direct benefit transfer can be provided by the government to farmers for crop residue management. This budget could be equivalent to that for subsidized machines. This budget will allow farmers to receive the real hand-holding they need and reduce the profits of Happy Seeder producers.
Let the market and economic forces decide the price of farm machinery. The carrot is what will lead to correct practices and not the stick.
Happy Seeder: The sad story
Conservation-based and in situ solutions are superior options. Farmers have their reservations. Farmers have been taught for generations to sow seeds on a clean bed. In Punjabi, it was often said that ‘Rajjke vacate rajjke khaa’ means “till much and eat many.” We are now asking them to stop learning and do zero tillage. Some farmers don’t like sowing on a contaminated seedbed, especially if it is anchored straw.
The subsidy mechanism has caused the price of Happy Seeder to rise. It is priced between Rs 1.5 and Rs 1.7 lakh. Individual farmers can get a 50 percent subsidy from the government to buy it. The Happy Seeder will cost the farmer Rs 80,000. The machine can only be used by the farmer for a few hours during the year due to the small landholdings. After paddy harvest, he will need to plant wheat. The machine holds the hard-earned capital of the poor farmer. The Happy Seeder cost rose to Rs. 1.7 lakh after the government announced the subsidy. This is a well-oiled system to support manufacturers. If not, then the government should seriously consider the resource-sharing model.
Custom-hiring centers (CHC) can promote the ‘pay for usage’ model. Many places have problems with the non-availability or inability to rent residue management machines from custom-hiring centers. However, aggregation or sharing resources is the best way to go. For small landholdings, balers, Happy Seeders, and plows may not be affordable. Farmers don’t have to pay a fixed mechanization price with the agricultural equipment library or CHCs. Even the EMI for fully-owned machines is a fixed price.
Individual ownership of agricultural equipment is no longer possible. Soft loans and back-ended subsidies should be used to extend assistance to custom-hiring centers instead of capital subsidies. The government offers an 80 percent subsidy to farmers who buy the Happy Seeder. The solution lies elsewhere.