-The Indian Express Every October, the air quality in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana plummets as farmers set the leftover stubble and loose straw on fire after paddy is harvested using combines. And this time, too, the smoke signals from the fields are ominous Ambala, Karnal, Patiala: “A matchbox costs just Rs 2, you know,” says Ram Pal Rana, as he collects and piles up dry straw on one side of his...
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Rs 15/litre diesel price hike burns a big hole in farmers' pockets -Anju Agnihotri Chaba
-The Indian Express But it may give a boost for S-SMS/happy seeder technology adoption to prevent paddy straw burning Jalandhar: Thakur Dyal Singh has never in the past raised the rates for operation of his combine harvester in farmers’ fields by more than Rs 100 per acre. Till around 2012-13, he was charging Rs 800-1,000 for harvesting, threshing and cleaning their paddy or wheat crop from one acre using his machine. In...
More »The 'happy seeder' in search of helping hands -Preeti Mehra
-The Hindu Business Line A campaign and fundraiser are trying to persuade farmers in Haryana and Punjab to opt for technology instead of using the polluting method of crop stubble burning in the sowing season this winter October-November are the cruellest months for people living in the National Capital Region. A heavy smog slowly drifts in and hangs in through the winter, sending particulate matter (PM) levels soaring to a hazardous degree....
More »Dealing with the residue -Ajay Vir Jakhar
-The Indian Express Curbing stubble burning is about inducing behavioural changes in farmers. Given that crop residue burning has an environmental footprint and poses health hazards, one needs to be cautious while evaluating the Centre’s policy to mitigate the crisis. But there is also an urgent need for such an evaluation. The Centre has allocated Rs 1,050 crore to the states where crop residue burning poses a pollution hazard. The Union Ministry...
More »States as policy labs for farming -Rajeev Gowda
-The New Indian Express Something remarkable happened when the farmers came marching to Mumbai recently. Instead of greeting them with hostility, Mumbaikars welcomed them with affection, food and water. This change in attitude was triggered by the farmers’ extraordinary discipline and their efforts to ensure minimal disruption to the Mumbaikars’ routines. Even hard-boiled journalists acknowledged, for a brief moment, urbanites had realised our farmers and adivasis were indeed facing difficult times. The...
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