Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 11
As paddy harvest begins in Punjab, residents of the entire North India are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that the stubble burning would be less and people would breathe easy (literally).
Besides the efforts being made by the state government, a number of NGOs too have joined hands to create awareness about ill effects of stubble burning and new techniques for managing stubble in the limited time period of 20-40 days, when paddy is harvested and fields have to be readied for the next wheat sowing.
To address the challenge of stubble burning, Roots Foundation, a social enterprise, working closely with the farming community – today announced this Sensitisation and Training Programme for farmers of Punjab and Haryana.
The foundation, which has been working with more than 2 lakhs farmers in the region since 2017 on promoting various good agriculture practices, in association with experts from Wazir Advisers and Agriculture Universities, aims to encourage farmers not to burn stubble. Ritwit Bahuguna, founder, Roots Foundation said, “We aim to create awareness of various technology interventions, government schemes and subsidies to eradicate stubble burning, and go one step ahead to train farmers in alternate methods of disposal. Under the programme, our experts focus on the use of a mix of in-situ (on the field) and ex-situ (off the field) practices. In in-situ our focus has been on promoting use of happy seeders and Pusa Decomposer whereas, in ex-situ, emphasis is on linking farmers to markets.”
Besides, Roots Foundation, Ambuja Cement Foundation, too, is working on creating awareness about the ill effects of stubble burning.
Talking to The Tribune, Manov Maity, area programme manager, said they were working with hundreds of thousands of farmers across Malwa region of Punjab, trying to convince them not to burn stubble, but go in for its management.
“We have been asking farmers to go in for custom hiring of machines, so that they are not financially burdened. Early maturing varieties of paddy, which generate less stubble and also allow more time to farmers to clear stubble in a scientific manner are recommended by our experts. To create a lasting impression, graffiti against stubble burning is also being done in walls of villages,” he said.
NGOs educate farmers against stubble burning
{$excerpt:n}
