Farm fires down by half in Punjab, but experts say 55% crop not yet harvested

On October 27 this year, Punjab recorded 766 farm fires against 1,111, 279 and 2,563 cases in 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Of the 766 farm fires witnessed on Friday, Tarn Taran reported a maximum of 104 crop residue burning incidents, followed by 98 in Sangrur, 97 in Patiala and 76 in Amritsar.

Several experts have attributed the decrease in the number of farm fires this year to ex-situ stubble management programme that encourages industries to use stubble as a fuel.

The programme aims to manage approximately 4.5 million tonnes of paddy stubble using ex-situ methods this year. Currently, there are around 2000 baler machines working in the fields, and the Punjab government has sanctioned an additional 2300 new balers, including the big baler, which costs around Rs 1 crore and can cover around 40 acres if used for around 9 -10 hours daily. A big baler machine can make bales ranging between 2.5 quintals and 7 quintals each while a small baler can make a bale of 25-30 kg of stubble.

In the in-situ method, stubble is either incorporated into the soil during wheat sowing using machines such as Super Seeder and Smart seeder, or wheat is sown without clearing the stubble from the field with machines like happy seeder and surface seeders , allowing the stubble to decompose gradually in the soil.

Whereas in the ex-situ method, stubble is cleared from the fields using cutter, rake and baler machines set which is then transported to various industries.

While in in-situ method, a farmer has to spend around Rs 6000 per acre to manage stubble, in ex-situ method, fields are cleared free of cost.

Since 2018, the Punjab government has been distributing stubble management machines under the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme, providing both in-situ and ex-situ management machines. However, the government’s focus has now shifted towards promoting ex-situ methods. The shift is driven by an increasing demand for stubble from biomass plants, boilers, palletization units, and ethanol plants.

Chairman of Punjab pollution control board Adarsh Kumar Vig said that this year they set a target to collect 4.5 million tonne paddy stubble through the baler machine and so far the response has been good from the farmers. “Around 5,000 officers are actively educating farmers about these methods. And more farmers are opting for ex-situ methods to deal with paddy stubble. While in most cases stubble is collected free of cost, in some cases, farmers also get a token amount from companies collecting the stubble,” he said, adding that Punjab currently produces around 225 lakh tonnes of stubble, with approximately 110 lakh tonnes managed through in-situ programmes and nearly 30 lakh tonnes managed through ex-situ.

However, over 85 lakh tonnes are still being burned.

Meanwhile, officials said that they are optimistic that this year they will be able to manage around 170 to 180 lakh tonnes of paddy stubble though in-Situ and Ex-Situ . In Kapurthala district, Chief Agriculture Officer Naresh Gulati, said that nearly 60 baler machines are operating in their district, and companies are actively collecting stubble.

Gurdaspur district training officer of the Punjab Agriculture department Amrik Singh said that this year farmers are readily opting for ex-situ measures also for fodder purpose for the cattle.“Last year, 854 hotspots were identified in the district and this year, hardly any fire has been reported from these hot spots,” he said.

Mandeep Singh, a baler machine owner from Malsian in Jalandhar said that he has already made bales from stubble on 700 acres and has already received orders to cover another 800 800. “When stubble is being collected free of cost, farmers are willingly giving it to us,” he said.

Jagroop Singh from Gujjar Pura village in Gurdaspur district has managed stubble on his own 400 acres by using a baler machine. “Stubble is collected and sold to various industries, allowing baler owners to manage their expenses and machinery costs while making a profit,” he said.

Gurjinder Singh from Shekhpura village in Gurdaspur, who previously resorted to stubble management by opting for in-situ methods, has also started making bales from his four acres.

Elaborating on government effort, director of the Punjab Agriculture Department Jaswant Singh said that the first step was to identify hotspots and then educate farmers. “This season, the Punjab government also distributed larger baler machines and promoted both in-situ and ex-situ methods.

While wheat sowing will start from November 1, experts mentioned that so far only 45% harvesting has taken place in the state and coming two weeks are quite crucial from the point of view of stubble fire events.