Burning question: Seasonal Agri crop waste incineration

Stubble burning in Punjab & Haryana, and now also in some sites in UP are claimed to be the major source of pollution in Delhi NCR. From late September to early November farmers burn approximately about 35 million tons of crop waste mainly as a easy, quick practice to reduce turnaround time between harvesting and sowing of winter crops. The other reason for burning stubble, especially paddy crop stubble is the high silica content in it which means it would lack in nutrients and be of no use as animal fodder.

Earlier harvest was manual and time consuming but was more efficient resulting in little to no stubble left in the ground as more of the stem or stalk was cut closer to the ground. Use of mechanization has lead to easier , cost effective but rather wasteful harvesting as large pieces of stem/stalk are left behind protruding out of the ground. In northern India, despite a ban by the Punjab Pollution Control Board, the practice of stubble burning is still practiced in the state of Punjab. Authorities are starting to enforce this ban more proactively.

There exists methods of extraction and processing of agri-waste and multiple utilities for the same. The key problem remains how to make harvesting more efficient, extraction of waste cost effective and  extraction , collection and sale of waste a feasible alternative for the farming community resulting in behavior change. 

Firstly, is stubble burning bad?

Pros (Why farmers take to it):

1. It kills weeds that potentially could harm the next crop, even those that are resistant to herbicides .
2. It kills insects and pests like slugs and drives away vermin like rats and moles, far more effective than pesticides.
3. It reduces nitrogen tie up in the soil
4. It clears the field quickly and efficiently at a much cheaper rate than by using manual labour to extract for the next sowing period which may happen within 15-30 days.
5. Less labor and machine intensive.

Cons (Why farmers should move away from it): 

1. Burning results in loss of nutrients that could ideally go back into the soil reducing the dependence of the soil on chemical fertilizers
2. Toxins released in atmosphere may result in loss of crops from other plantations and fruiting trees.
3. Pollution from the smoke detrimental to human health and well being, results in damage to equipment and other forms of life and in the winter stays in the air resulting in continued detriment to all.
4. Increases risk of fires spreading out of control and causing widespread losses.
5. Wastes fuel required elsewhere to ignite and maintain the fires.
6. Changes and dries the soil resulting in change of pH balance, nutrient balance, oxygen and disturbance of beneficial biota.
7. The pollution affects the farmers health and quality of life, affects their near and dear ones and those living in near by areas depending upon the direction of the winds.

However, in the case of Delhi no one can deny it is causing a trans-boundary issue that compromises visibility, health and well being of the residents of the city. 

Different approaches considering and engaging multiple stakeholders and potential solutions (in no way an exhaustive or adequate list),

1. As a forward thinking farmer,

• Seek out alternate modes of dealing with the waste in terms of extraction, processing or sale for further processing.
• Improve mechanized harvest to either cut lower resulting in a 'closer shave' and use mechanized means to rake and dig up the stubble- stalk, roots, etc. similar to industrial large scale potato harvest using combine harvesters. 
• Use harvesters like the Indian-manufactured "Happy Seeder" that shred the crop residues into small pieces and uniformly spread them across the field.
• If the remaining stem/stalk can be cut down further by the harvester, the remaining waste from the root ball could be easily ploughed back into the soil.
• Alternatively if the farmer has large tracts of land where agriculture is not as aggressive and crop rotation is practiced along with leaving land fallow for a period , the raked up agri waste could be ploughed into that fallow tract leaving it to enrich with a mixture of gobar, jaggery and nitrogen fixing plant seeds.
• If the farmer cannot buy or afford mechanized unit to rake up the waste or to plough it back in, seek out alternatives to either rent or borrow from more affluent neighbors.
• If borrowing is not possible, then consider community sourcing machines for the same through a farmers cooperative by pooling money from all the local farmers resulting in better and continued utility of the machine as well as its maintenance through yearly membership fees.
• If using cattle for ploughing, tilling and raking up the waste stubble is a practice or possibility revive it as it is less energy intensive, more soil friendly resulting in minimal soil compacting and results in better soil aeration. The cattle used for tilling could also graze in the fallow land tracts resulting in seed dispersal of wild native plants, enrichment of the soil from the natural manure and increased weeding. Soils where cattle graze are found to have slower weed growth as it neutralizes the competition weeds give to other useful native plants.
• Reduced humus content in the soil, regular use of intense chemical fertilizers, stubble burning and compaction of soil may result in desertification and/or destruction of soil texture and fertility resulting in it turning to dust which too would cause health issues especially if the existing soil is silty or dry to begin with.

2. As a concerned citizen, 

• Ask questions, do research (policy, scientific, legal, local farming practices) and seek solutions that can be passed on to governments, corporates and farming community. No idea is useless or wasted and the best of ideas come from the strangest of places. Success or failure of a potential solution is dependent on the implementation- execution and feasibility of the idea. The more localized the solution the better. 
• Use an adequate mask and propagate awareness about the air pollution in local communities both rural and urban. 
• A local is more perceptive to the problem, its causes and potential solutions. They are also more capable of mobilizing communities. 
• From a pollution, community good and business perspective consider supporting setting up businesses that work on making 

1. particle boards, insulation boards, wall panels, printing paper and corrugating medium, recycled paper, roofing sheets, fuel, binder, fibrous building panels, bricks, acid proof cement, coir fibre, reinforced composite, polymer composites, cement board using the stubble waste.
2. Waste to energy plant (Dual or Multifuel Micro CHPs- Combined Heat & Power Units)- Incineration in efficient units that directly burn dried composite agri stubble crushed with charcoal in the season that it becomes available. Heat and power are commodities that can be sold to the local farmers or back to the grid especially in the winter, if the layout of the region is such that the village is an aggregation of homes and the farms extend out. Alternately some farmers with large tracts of land could take to monoculture or mixed plantation of fast growth soft wood trees that could be harvested every 5 years for woodchip or to generate charcoal pelts (mix of charred woodchip, agriwaste, gobar and or other natural additives).
3. As the waste generated has a large amount of cellulose, bio-ethanol could be produced which could efficiently be mixed and sold with petrol locally at 15-85% bioethanol additive burning cleaner and more efficiently in dual fuel or suitable vehicles.
4. The agri waste could be crushed and ground and then used in large scale composting (multiple techniques) wherein the generated compost could be sold back to the farmers through Kisan Vikas Kendras possibly at a modest price or at subsidised rates if government scheme exists. So the farmer would benefit in terms of a modest price for the stubble extraction, the individual setting up the unit would have one source of raw material to generate power and heat locally for multiple uses, and the farmer again benefits from good quality compost generated and purchased in his/her backyard.

• As an external party, try to bring in expertise from outside to marry with traditional local practices and create more efficient and cost effective workable solutions and models that require minimal government intervention. Engaging government is a tedious bureaucratic nightmare that results in delays, hurdles, and/or corruption due to a lack of commitment/empathy to the problem

3. As a responsible corporate,

• Walk the walk before you talk the talk- Responsibility should be in actions not in PR/Brand promotions and token events. Engage the problem, engage the people, evaluate the situation and engage in responsible action towards positive outcomes.

• Working in the periphery of agricultural lands by running factories, plants, assembly units, or ancillary or subsidiary units-

1. Working with local community to identify local solutions and integrate CSR with it is a good way to dispense social responsibility. 
2. As local company workers may largely be local individuals enlisting their support via employee engagement is a good way to connect with local community and engage them actively for formulation of better initiatives.
3. Explore national, regional, international best practices, there is no need to reinvent the wheel if a practical solution that can be localized already exists.

• Working in the agri-business sector-

1. Identify potential solutions in line with company business and see which can be implemented and may yield a niche market where your organization and society can benefit as a for profit new micro business venture 
2. Identify points to invest in via CSR, Employee Giving and Employee Engagement since most workers would be local and engaging employees in local problems and solutions results in a more efficient workforce that understands the company cares. 
3. Explore national, regional, international best practices, there is no need to reinvent the wheel if a practical solution that can be localized already exists.

4. As sensible government (local/state/national),

• Carrot & Stick Approach:

1. Incetivise collection and purchase of agri waste and stubble as a recycling and composting program preferably in PPP grant mode to kick start an alternate business line/entrepreneural opportunity, generate rules and regulations to collect, purchase, transport and process waste, set prices initially to encourage minimum benefit to farmers for the extra effort and change of behavior, set up training for rural farmers for the same. This could be done similar to what is done informally with milk packets, paper, glass and metals and scrap.
2. Create stringent air quality norms enforcable in rural areas as well especially near urban centres and put in monitoring facilities. Where the the AQI breaches norms let the locals within a specific range of the monitored area pay a modest fine to compensate for the harm caused. Put a price on it based on health effects.
3. Direct funds generated from fines into local medical and health care facilities to improve conditions and maintain services.

• Producer Pays Approach: Have trained staff deployed randomly monitoring areas where AQI is high, let the producer of the pollution pay for the harm caused. This may result in better movement of individuals to a more efficient practical and less harmful approach to dealing with stubble.

• Train the Trainer Approach: 

1. Identify alternate ways of dealing with stubble. 
2. Field test and trial different ways to identify the most suited to the climatic zone and topographic and hydro geological conditions prevailing in the area.
3. Train a bunch of local farmers in the same and get them to train further farmers in the right methods with incentives for the trainers. This would reduce cost of large scale training and result in more fluid uptake of new techniques since it is the local farmers conveying the learning to their fraternity.

- Joseph T. Varghese, Author & Managing Trustee, KEYS Trust

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(Statutory warning: This blog post by no means is an exhaustive list of what can be done to deal with crop waste burning. This is a representation of views & ideas that came forth from the author that could be explored for viability. It is based on the limited desk based research, deliberation & understanding of the author who suffers from the after-effects of air-pollution in Delhi. The images used are not owned by the author or KEYS Trust & belong to their original sources & are merely used for education & visual representation.This by no way means the author is an expert & any flaws in the content, in terms of correction, omission or additions may be kindly excused & communicated to the author by way of email to: keystrustindia@gmail.com)