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In Retrospect

Retrograde maneuvering

Even as the cyclic problem of stubble burning — which had its genesis in the first green revolution — shows no signs of abatement, the government appears to be in the process of introducing another set of genetically modified crops

Retrograde maneuvering
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Stubble burning incidents in Punjab are on the rise again despite its menacing impact on the environment. On last Monday 2,487 stubble-burning cas-es were reported in a single day. According to the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data, between September 15 and November 7, a total of 32,486 stubble burning cases have been registered in the state. Punjab reported 37,933 incidents during the same period in 2021. Stubble fire is not restricted to Punjab only. It has become a common practice in the adjoining states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan also.

It is reported that large-scale stubble burning began in Punjab and Haryana as a consequence of the government's initiative, in 2009, to save ground water. In 2009 the governments of Punjab and Haryana introduced regulations and pushed the paddy sowing time forward by three weeks. The idea behind the step was to discourage farmers from using the groundwater for paddy plants as the monsoon did not reach North during April and May. Paddy requires a lot of water to grow, and due to the lack of rain, farmers use groundwater without any restrictions. The steps taken by the government changed the harvesting period and pushed it to the months of October and November. The shifting of Kharif sowing cycle by around 2-3 weeks, caused the Kharif harvest to almost coincide with Rabi sowing in November. Closing the gap is a likely factor that encourages farmers to burn stubble.

Stubble is the straw residue left after harvesting paddy, wheat, and some other grain crops. It remains on the field and takes a long time to de-compose. Stubble makes it difficult to plant seeds for the next crop and disturbs the growing cycle. Moreover, it is not edible for humans and is a poor source of fodder for animals. Stubble has other uses as well, but they are expensive and most farmers can't afford them. Thus, stubble is a nuisance for farmers, and the only viable option left for them is to burn it.

In addition to wheat and paddy, sugarcane leaves are most commonly burnt. According to an official report, more than 500 million tonnes of parali (crop residues) is produced annually in the country; cereal crops (rice, wheat, maize and millets) account for 70 per cent of the total crop resi-due. Of this, 34 per cent comes from rice and 22 per cent from wheat crops, most of which is burnt on the farm. According to an estimate, 20 mil-lion tonnes of rice stubble is produced every year in Punjab alone, 80 per cent of which is burnt. It is suggested that instead of burning the stubble, it can be used in different ways like cattle feed, compost manure, roofing in rural areas, biomass energy, mushroom cultivation, packing materials, fuel, paper, bio-ethanol and industrial production, etc., reports 'DownToEarth'.

With 51,764 cases in 2018, 52,991 cases in 2019, 76,929 cases in 2020, and 71,304 cases in 2021, Punjab remains at the top in terms of stubble-burning cases in the region. Haryana, which has paddy area that is half of Punjab, has recorded stubble burning cases between 6,000 and 10,000. For instance, it had 10,288 cases in 2018 followed by 6,700 cases in 2019, 9,898 cases in 2020, and then 6,987 fires in 2021. As per the data obtained from Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), Uttar Pradesh reported 6,636 burning cases in 2018 followed by 4,230 cases in 2019, 4,659 cases in 2020 and 4,242 cases in 2021. Delhi, on the other hand, had nine and four cases respectively in 2020 and 2021.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that air pollution-related stubble burning cases have witnessed a rise by 160 per cent in Rajasthan and 20 per cent in Punjab this October, as compared to October 2021. The Minister has also raised alarm over Delhi recording seven "very poor" air quality days in October this year compared to none in October 2021, reports 'NDTV'.

Administrative regulations

Burning crop residue is a crime under Section 188 of the IPC and the Air and Pollution Control Act of 1981. However, the government's imple-mentation lacks strength. Delhi High Court had also ordered against burning crop residues, while the Punjab government imposed a penalty of Rs 73.2 lakh on farmers in 2016, reports 'DownToEarth'.

Although the actual amount of fines charged was not available; farmers continue to burn residue every season. Wheat stubble burning is a rela-tively new issue which started with mechanised harvesting using combine harvesters. In the last four to five years, farmers from UP's Ghazipur dis-trict, especially Zamania and Chandauli areas, have been burning wheat stubble at a large scale. The government officials are not paying attention to this. The state government has not implemented the National Policy for Management of Crop Residues to protect the parali (crop residue). On December 10, 2015, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned crop residue burning in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

The West Bengal state Environment Department has banned burning of paddy stubble in fields across Bengal in an attempt to fight air pollution. The violators are to be prosecuted under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and can land in jail as well.

Burning of paddy stubble in fields, especially after the kharif crop is harvested in October-November, is rampant across the state. Toxic pollu-tants released in the air as a result of stubble burning in districts such as Murshidabad, the Burdwans and Hooghly can drift towards Calcutta with the northerly wind, and push up the city's already high air pollution level, reports 'Telegraph'. In 2020, the West Bengal government decided to ob-serve November 4 as 'Anti-stubble Burning Day'. The Environment Department took the decision in the wake of doctors apprehending that the COVID-19 situation may deteriorate with a possible surge in air pollution during Diwali and winter season, reports 'Outlook'.

Hazardous impact

Stubble is the leading cause of air pollution in the region, especially in the capital, New Delhi. A study by Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) estimates that in 2008-09, crop residue burning released 149.24 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), nine million tonnes of carbon monox-ide (CO), 0.25 million tonnes of oxides of sulphur (SOX), 1.28 million tonnes of particulate matter and 0.07 million tonnes of black carbon. Analysis shows that emissions from crop burning in one year is more than 17 times the total annual particulate pollution in Delhi from all sources—vehicles, industries, garbage burning, etc. Similarly, the total national annual emission for CO2 from crop residue burning is more than 64 times the total an-nual CO2 pollution emission in Delhi. For SO2, the total national annual emission from crop residue burning is about five times the total annual SO2 pollution emission in Delhi. This can lead to a number of health problems. A study by the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, has estimated that people in rural Punjab spend millions of rupees every year on treatment for ailments caused by stubble burning. Moreover, climate scientists have already linked fine particulate matter in the haze to the melting of Himalayan glaciers, reports 'DownToEarth'.

In addition to humans and animals, residue burning also adversely impacts the soil health. Burning one tonne of rice straw accounts for a loss of 5.5 kg of nitrogen, 2.3 kg of phosphorus, 25 kg of potassium and 1.2 kg of sulphur in the soil. According to GV Ramanjeneyulu — agricultural scien-tist of Hyderabad-based non-profit Centre for Sustainable Agriculture — heat from burning straw penetrates 1 cm into the soil, elevating the tem-perature to as high as 33.8-42.2 degrees Celsius. This kills the bacterial and fungal populations critical for a fertile soil. The presentation also said that the monetary cost of stubble burning for Punjab farmers is huge in terms of nutritional loss, and substantial in the form of government subsidies on nitrogen, phosphorus and potash fertilisers, reports 'DownToEarth'.

Alternatives

One possible solution is to use the stubble as a feed for biogas plants. It would reduce emission of greenhouse gases and help the farmers to produce clean energy locally. Historically, stubble has been burnt in many parts of the world because it improves weed control and creates easier passage for seeding equipment. However, the practice of burning stubble has recently declined in many countries due to concerns about soil erosion and loss of soil organic matter. Instead of being burnt, stubble is increasingly being retained which has several advantages for soil fertility and productivity.

Study shows, one of the main benefits of stubble retention is reduced soil erosion. Retaining stubble decreases erosion by lowering wind speed at the soil surface and decreasing run-off. Another advantage of retaining stubble is that it increases soil water content by decreasing run-off and increasing infiltration. However, the potential benefits of decreased run-off and increased infiltration will depend on the timing and intensity of rainfall as well as the quantity and orientation of stubble. Retaining stubble can have a larger effect on the carbon in microbial biomass in soil. When stubble is retained, the greater inputs of organic carbon to soil increase its biological fertility. Microorganisms in soil require organic carbon to ob-tain the nutrients and energy they need to live. Labile carbon is a particularly important form of organic carbon for soil microorganisms. Manage-ment practices that increase inputs of organic carbon to soil, such as retaining stubble, can increase the number of microorganisms in soil and also cause them to be more active.

'Times Now' reported that the government has taken a few initiatives to provide farmers with alternative solutions:

⁕ About two lakh machines like 'Happy seeder' and 'Smart seeder' have been made available to the farmers to help curb stubble burning. These are essentially tractor-mounted machines that cut and lift rice straw and sow wheat into the soil, and deposit the straw over the sown area as mulch.

⁕ Pusa decomposer — a bio-decomposer technique that converts stubble into compost much faster than usual — is another one of the alterna-tive solutions. According to officials the solution developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research is both cheaper and easier to use. It also improves soil fertility and productivity.

⁕ Several steps have also been taken to promote short-duration paddy varieties that can be harvested in 135-145 days instead of 165 days of present paddy variety.

But it appears, farmers have rejected the alternative solutions to curb stubble burning.

Why do farmers still burn stubble?

Farmers in Punjab claim they have no other option to get rid of their crop waste. "If, instead of burning, the stubble has to be disposed of in any other manner, then that involves a lot of expenditure," Paramjit Singh, general secretary of a prominent farmers' union in Punjab, told Reuters. But he said the stubble fires hurt locals more than the people in Delhi, about 280 km south of Khamanon town in Punjab's Fatehgarh Sahib district. "It will reach Delhi much later but the first (casualty) is the farmer because he is standing in the middle of it when he burns it. He is helpless; he is not lighting it up out of choice, said Singh," reports NDTV.

Punjab's Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has claimed that his government has distributed around 120,000 machines to the farmers that assist in destroying the crop residue without having to burn it down. But according to a report by 'Indian Express', as the costs of fuel needed to run stubble management ma-chines eat into their profits, farmers in parts of Punjab have been unwilling to use even machines that are available.

Reliable studies claim that stubble burning started in the mid-1980s with the introduction of mechanised harvesting for wheat (April-May) and paddy (October-November). Mechanised harvesting leaves taller and massive crop residue as against manual harvesting, which cuts crop close to the ground and leaves much less residue. Nonetheless, farmers of Punjab claim that they have been burning paddy stubble for decades, ever since they were encouraged by the government to grow it to overcome India's food shortage.

Paddy residue left by harvesters takes one-and-half months to decompose while farmers don't have sufficient time to sow their next crop, wheat. Stubble burning is a quick, cheap and efficient way to prepare soil beds for wheat. There is yet another problem with paddy stubble which is why it needs to be burnt. Unlike other crop residues, paddy residue (except for basmati variety) are harder to chew, has low calorific value and high silica content, all of which makes it unsuitable for use as animal fodder. In addition to mechanised harvesting, intensification of paddy cultivation in Punjab in more recent years has also led to higher incidents of stubble burning, reports 'Business Today'.

Miracle seed: the root cause

It may be recalled that during the Green Revolution in the 1970s, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh started growing a high-yield variety (HYV) of rice developed by the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, which could produce more tonnes of rice per hectare, instead of the existing varieties that produced only two tonnes per hectare. It also took much less time to hit full maturity.

This rice variety was aggressively promoted by the state, with the government procuring around 80 per cent of the rice produced in Punjab in the 1980s. By the late '90s, the region had fully adopted the rice-wheat-cropping-system, with wheat being sown and harvested in the dry winter season, and rice to coincide with the monsoon season as per timings mandated by the state governments. Effectively, the two crop periods of Kharif and Rabi in the case of rice and wheat moved close to one another, leaving about 15 days in between the two crop cycles, which compelled the farmers to burn the stubble before sowing wheat, reports 'MoneyControl'.

In addition to the HYV seeds, came various machines like harvesters etc. as a green revolution package. The machines used to harvest the crop and separate the grains on the spot, only reap the grains, leaving the stalks of stubble standing in the field. When the crop is harvested manually, the crop is cut much below, and it is taken out of the field for processing, therefore, not much stubble remains on the field, reports 'OpIndia'.

Conclusion

It is reported that scientists at Pune-based Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Tech-nology, have mapped two alternative dwarfing genes Rht14 and Rht18 in wheat. These genes are associated with better seedling vigor and longer coleoptiles (sheath protecting the young shoot tip). It is claimed that the improved wheat lines which are being developed at ARI will help reduce stubble burning incidences under the rice-wheat cropping system. These lines will also allow deeper sowing of wheat seeds to avail advantage of residual moisture in the soil, therefore, saving valuable water resources and reducing the cost of cultivation to farmers.

The HYV miracle seed of the first green revolution is named, by various studies, as the main cause of stubble burning, ground water depletion and introduction of chemical farming in India. Now the government is keen to initiate the second green revolution through the introduction of ge-netically modified seeds. Field trials on bt-brinjal and bt- mustard have been approved. It is feared, in the name of dousing stubble fire, genetically modified wheat may be introduced in the near future by the Indian government. Policy makers must refrain from making another mistake to correct a previous blunder.

Views expressed are personal

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