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Journalism of Courage
With the problem of farm fires being taken up by the Supreme Court, a machine that facilitates ex situ (off site) stubble management has been in demand in Punjab.
‘Baler’ machines have been around for a decade, and currently around 2,000 of them operate in Punjab. Of these 1,268 are highly subsidised (50-80%) under the Centre’s Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme.
Upon harvesting, the paddy crop leaves a stubble on the ground. Farmers need to get rid of this stubble before the next crop can be sown. Farmers burn the stubble, the smoke from which becomes one of the largest air pollutants around this time each year.
More environment-friendly methods include incorporation of the stubble into the soil using machines such as super seeders (in situ management). However, farmers say this leaves fields vulnerable to insect attacks, necessitating the use of toxic insecticides.
For many, ex situ management is preferable. This is where baler machines come in.
Balers compress agricultural residue into manageable and transportable bales. Before using a baler machine, farmers cut the crop residue with a tractor-mounted cutter. After two days of drying, a rake arranges the stubble in straight lines. A tractor-mounted baler machine then compresses the stubble into compact bales using netting. These bales are transported to factories or dumping sites.
In fields where balers are used, farmers can immediately plough the field and sow the next crop. Most balers in Punjab create cylindrical or rectangle bales weighing 25-30 kg, though bigger machines are also available.
A single baler costs about Rs 14.5 lakh without subsidies — the costs of the rake and cutter are extra, around Rs 2.5-3 lakh. Each baler can cover 15-20 acres in a day. Weather permitting, they operate for around 45 days.
Currently, Punjab has around 32 lakh hectares of rice fields. Depending on how many days they operate, only 15-18% of this area can be covered by the available balers in the state.
After they were included under CRM, no units were sold in the first two years (2018, 2019). The next three years, however, saw a total of 768 balers sold under subsidy, with another 500 added this year. Around 700 non-subsidised balers currently operate in the state.
