Scarcity of balers hampers stubble disposal in district

Charanjit Singh Teja

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Amritsar, November 10

Though there is a scarcity of baler machine operators in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur, still around 3.25 lakh MT of stubble was successfully tied in bales in Amritsar district, 3.70 lakh MT in Gurdaspur and 40,000 MT in Taran Taran. There are around 80 to 100 baler-and-raking combo machines available in each district of Majha. A number of baler operators from Malwa region also visit the area as harvesting in Majha region starts early as compared to Malwa. After tying bales in Majha region, local baler operators move to Malwa region. Still, the baler machines were not available for a large number of farmers, who were willing to tie bales instead of setting the stubble on fire.

In Gurdaspur district, around 30 per cent of the total produce of stubble has been tied in bales. There are two major factories in Pathankot which store bales. Similarly in Amritsar, three major factories in Mehta area procured around 2 lakh MT. The demand for bales in the industrial sector is also negligible in Tarn Taran. Apart from this, the cattle grazer and nomad tribe of Gujjars is the main buyer of stubble bales in the region, especially Gurdaspur and Pathankot.

Amrik Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Gurdaspur said, “There were around 145 operators in the district, who tied bales. The farmers used to call us but the number of balers was insufficient. The number of firm fires can be reduced if more balers are available in the area. There should be at least one baler machine in each cluster of five villages. Several blocks in the district witnessed rain during the harvesting season which affected the operation of balers. Last year, one of the factories in Pathankot stored one lakh MT of bales.”

The baler operators used to charge Rs 2,500- Rs 3,000 per acre from farmers during the previous years. Now, they offer to collect the stubble free of cost. In some blocks of Gurdaspur district, the factory owners pay Rs 3,000 per acre to farmers for collecting stubble with balers. Due to scarcity of balers, the farmers offer operators up to Rs 500 per acre to vacate the field on priority. The Agriculture Department recommends the farmers to incorporate the residue in the soil after harvesting, but the farmers refrain from making extra efforts in this direction.

“Though the government is giving subsidies on balers, the agriculture staff does not recommend that farmers tie bales as we call it nutrient mining which affects the soil health. We advocate incorporation of crop residue in soil. The use of stubble as fodder is not nutrient mining as it is again incorporated in the fields in the form of manure, ” said an Agriculture Department official.