Can rice residues be turned into wealth?

Sustainable management of surplus paddy residue in the Indo-Gangetic plain is a back-breaking task for farmers due to lack of viable options. Eventually, farmers prefer to incinerate it mindlessly. Sustainable residue management is important because paddy straws are rich in nutrients and can be translated into value added products.

Residue burning is highly pernicious for the environment and human health. In India, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) strictly opposes this practice of crop residue burning, particularly in North-Western India, and both the central and state governments have implemented various policies to help farmers with eco-friendly straw management approaches.

Both public and private organisations are trying to find out in- situ (adaptation of conservation agriculture and use of Happy Turbo Seeder (HTS) and ex-situ management options (livestock feed, production of biofuels and biochar, electricity generation, mushroom farming, preparation of compost and packaging materials) to fix the issue.

Losses of essential nutrients from the soil and in the residue, along with the emission of potential greenhouse gases (GHGs), are the major repercussions of this malpractice. Adaption and commercialization of resource conservation technologies like conservation agriculture with low silica content in rice varieties are excellent opportunities to look after. Value addition by the preparation of compost, mushroom production, biogas/oil generation, and producing energy in power plants are new avenues to convert this waste into wealth.

The major setback of poor implementation is a lack of attention from policymakers and public authorities. Although, in recent years, different organisations have been coming forward to solve the issue and hope that combined approaches from multiple disciplines could be able to cope with the problem soon.

Respective state and central governments, along with different private organisations, are working hand in hand to spread awareness and control stubble burning. Fostering the current technologies through policy interventions and organising training camps in the village level with monetary incentives are the important strategies to look for.

Future thrust

• Suggestions to follow for residue utilisation and pollution reduction:
• Adaptations of resource conservation technologies like zero tillage, residue retention, avoiding mono-cropping and advocating integrated input management.
• Conventional rice-wheat systems should be discouraged while intercropping with legumes. The inclusion of summer mung bean in the fallow is one option for sustainable intensification and additional return.
• The development of a proper package of practices (nutrient budgeting, weed management, and irrigation scheduling) specifically for conservation agriculture-based systems is the need of the hour.
• Promotion and commercialisation of Happy Turbo Seeder and Straw Management System technology for smooth sowing. Among all the major technologies, turbo seeder is one of the most promising to counter the challenge of residue burning. So, technological dissemination in rural areas with need based spatio-temporal modification of the prevalent technology is the key to success.
• Development of more modern hand held and field specific machines that are easy to operate and commercially viable for the farming community.

• Setting up training and demonstration campaign by different public and private organisations for creating awareness and feasibility of happy turbo seeder in the rural areas. This improves basic skills and information regarding Happy Turbo Seeder operation.
• Promoting schemes to encourage farmers to grow basmati rice and start breeding programme to develop variety low in Si content.
• Develop modern composting technique from rice straw and trying to find new opportunities for using rice residue in domestic sector.
• Biogas and power generation plant (5–10% co-firing with coal) should be set up in association with private partners to produce more green energy and curb GHG emission into atmosphere.
• Restrict unlimited access of water and electricity in the agriculture sector.

• Imposing strict laws and regulations in the areas highly prone to crop stubble burning.
• Strictly regulating firing incidents in the fields through regular visit and take on-spot action those who disobeys the rules and regulations.
• Setting air-quality monitoring lab in the field and checking the air quality level in regular interval.
• Extension activities and setting up of filed day in association with local farming group to educate them about the ill-effects of residue burning and good points about residue incorporation in the field.

Conclusion

Every year, centre as well as state governments are spending billions of rupees to find a permanent solution against this hitch. Multi-faceted factors (operational, socio-economic and technical) are behind this. Diverse on-farm and off-farm the benefits can change the picture. Apart from on-farm utilisation in conservation agriculture-based systems; the surplus residue can be efficiently employed for production of biofuel, biogas, biochar and electricity, growing mushroom, pulp and paper board industry and in domestic purposes.

The full paper can be accessed here