Sangrur farmers say no to stubble burning, reap gains

Tribune News Service

Parvesh Sharma

Sangrur, August 30

At a time when the district authorities are trying to convince farmers to manage stubble without burning, there are many growers who have not burnt crop residue for last many years. These farmers are also trying to help the government to convince others in doing so.

“I have been sowing crops and managing stubble of wheat and paddy without burning it since 2007. For two yeas, I faced problems, but later all became easy. Since I have not burnt stubble, the fertility of my land has increased which is reflected in the per acre rise in production,” said Dharminder Dhillon from Ugrahan village of the district.

Another farmer Daljinder Singh from Chathe Nakte said he had been growing different crops without burning residue 12 years.

“After I noticed a decline in per acre production of the crop, I read some books and other material. I got to know that burning of crop residue damages fertility of land. After consulting my family members, I stopped stubble burning. Now, the per acre production of my crops has improved,” he said.

Farmers from various villages while talking to The Tribune shared their calculations about the input cost with and without burning the crop residue. They said, the burning of stubble not only creates environmental problems, but also increases per acre input cost of farmers.

“When we sow crops without burning the stubble, the cost of running the tractor for ploughing is less. Only around 4-5 litres of diesel per acre is needed for it. However, if a farmer burns the crop residue, the cost rises. Around 20 litres of diesel per acre is needed as after burning, farmers have to run the tractor for ploughing the same land at least thrice,” said Jagdeep Singh from Kanoi village. He has also been sowing crops since 2006 on his 38 acres without burning any stubble.

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