Cost constraint: Gujjars only takers of paddy straw bales

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 18

Gujjar, a nomad community that keeps cattle, are the only takers of bales of paddy straw in the area. Farmers in the vegetable grower belt are using the baler mechanism in their fields for straw management, but they don’t find many buyers of paddy straw bales.

The preparation of bales is a costly process as a farmer pays Rs2,000 per acre to baler machine operators and approximately Rs1,000 for fuel consumption.

After spending Rs3,000 per acre, there are a few takers for paddy straw bales. Meanwhile, experts of the Agriculture Department are promoting the mechanism, which poses a challenge for its users.

Agriculture experts claimed that more people had adopted the baler mechanism for paddy straw management this year. The government should link industry and millers with farmers, who can buy these bales and use them as fuel, they added.

Sukhraj Singh Gill, agriculture officer, Verka, who is promoting the baler technique to curb stubble burning said, “We are promoting this technique only in those areas where farmers grow vegetables. Otherwise, we suggest incorporating the crop residue in the field to maintain soil health. If farmers sell or burn straw, it will cause deficiency of nutrients in soil.”

Gill has tied up Gujjars, who pay for the baler machine, while farmers pay for the cutter. With this association, a Gujjar get bales at Rs2,000 and the farmer manages his straw at Rs1,000.

“The Gujjars have limited capacity. One Gujjar family can purchase maximum 10 acres of paddy straw. What other farmers will do. The government agencies should explore more areas, where these bales can be used and from which farmers get its viable cost,” said Gill. 

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