News Excerpt:
Recently, Punjab has seen a surge in demand for a farm machine called Baler that makes ex situ (off-site) stubble control easier since the Supreme Court took up the issue of farm fires.
Farm fires:
Farmers get rid of crop residue quickly by setting them on fire. It also occurs when a barn or stubble at a farm for the keeping of livestock catches fire and is partially or wholly destroyed. This can lead to the death of animals, the release of toxic fumes, and financial and material damage to insurers, owners, employees, and nearby residents.
What are Balers?
- A baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store.
- Baler’s machines have been around for a decade, and currently around 2,000 of them operate in Punjab. Of these 1,268 are highly subsidized (50-80%) under the Centre’s Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme.
Use of Balers
- For Managing paddy stubble:
- Upon harvesting, the paddy crop leaves a stubble on the ground. Farmers need to get rid of this stubble before the next crop can be sown. They burn the stubble, the smoke from which becomes one of the largest air pollutants around this time each year.
- In-situ management not preferable: More environment-friendly methods include incorporation of the stubble into the soil using machines such as super seeders (in situ management). However, farmers say this leaves fields vulnerable to insect attacks, necessitating the use of toxic insecticides. For many, ex-situ management such as Baler machines are preferable.
- For compressing farm residue:
- Balers compress agricultural residue into manageable and transportable bales: Before using a baler machine, farmers cut the crop residue with a tractor-mounted cutter. After two days of drying, a rake arranges the stubble in straight lines. A tractor-mounted baler machine then compresses the stubble into compact bales using netting. These balers are transported to factories or dumping sites.
- In fields where balers are used, farmers can immediately plough the field and sow the next crop.
Currently Punjab is facing Baler Machines crises:
- The state agriculture department received 210 applications for subsidised balers by August 15, 2023.
- Currently, Punjab has around 32 lakh hectares of rice fields. Out of which, only 15-18% of this area can be covered by the available balers in the state.
- A single baler costs about Rs 14.5 lakh without subsidies — the costs of the rake and cutter are extra, around Rs 2.5-3 lakh. Each baler can cover 15-20 acres in a day.
Government Initiatives:
- The Punjab government will provide 30 balers to farmer groups or custom hiring centres (CHCs) at a subsidy of 65%.
- Since 2018, the Centre has funded Punjab’s crop residue management (CRM) programme, with a grant of ₹1,370 crore sanctioned for the state from 2018 to 2022.
- For the current season, ₹350 crore has been sanctioned, with the condition that Punjab contribute 40% ( ₹140 crore) and the rest ( ₹210 crore) will be contributed by the Centre.
Mains PYQ
Q. Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three Mega cities of the country but the air pollution is much more serious problem in Delhi as compared to the other two. Why is this so?
(UPSC 2015)
