When over 3 lakh paddy stubble burning cases were reported in Punjab from 2017 to 2021 on over 90 lakh hectares of paddy area collectively, Pathankot – the smallest district of the state (area-wise, not population-wise) – did not even have 1% share in the state’s total stubble fires and area burnt.
The district is consistent in keeping the burning to a bare minimum and is aiming to make it burning-free in the coming harvesting season.
The district is managing more than 80% of its crop residue by adopting different means. And the main force behind all these programmes is the chief agriculture officer (CAO) of the district, Dr Amrik Singh, an agricultural extension service worker.
Agricultural extension (also known as agricultural advisory services) plays a crucial role in boosting agricultural productivity, increasing food security, improving rural livelihoods, and promoting agriculture as an engine of pro-poor economic growth.
An extension worker is an experienced farmer, selected and hired by the government to mentor and train local farmers, using their credibility as a farmer to approach their clients.
For the past six years, Dr Singh managed to motivate farmers either to incorporate crop stubble into the soil or to sell it to the Gujjars (who are primarily milch cattle rearers) as fodder and earn Rs 1,000-2,000 per acre.
Going into the records of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), in Punjab in the past five years 50,845 (2017), 51,764 (2018), 52,991 (2019), 76,929 (2020), and 71,304 (2021) stubble fires were reported on 19.78 lakh hectares (LH) in 2017, 17.80 LH (2018), 18.95 LH (2019), 17.96 LH (2020), and 15.64 LH in 2021.
Pathankot reported just 43 fires, including 12 (2017), 10 (2018), 4 (2019), 11 (2020) and 6 (2021), while the total paddy area burnt here was 4,063 hectares (2017), 4,900 hectares (2018), 6,000 hectares (2019), 6,600 hectares (2020) and 4,340 hectares (2021).
The state burnt 52%, 64%, 66%, 61% and 71.5% of the total paddy area from 2017 to 2021, respectively. Pathankot’s burnt area remained between 16% and 23% of the total paddy area, while its share in Punjab’s total burning cases was just .014% and in the total burnt area was .28%.
“As per Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) Ludhiana, only 43 spots have been detected in Pathankot district after kharif harvesting from 2017 to 2021 and several spots are not identified as straw burning cases. It was verified from Nasa website where satellite images have observed minimum straw burning spots in Pathankot district,” said Dr Singh.
Located in the Majha region of the state, Pathankot could manage its stubble because of massive awareness campaigns through physical camps in villages and social media platforms.
Pathankot district, with a total geographical area of 91,000 hectares with a net sown area of 47,000 hectares, had around 30,180 hectares under paddy cultivation in 2021-22. This included 2,000 hectares under basmati (aromatic rice grain).
Dr Singh said that farmers need different options to manage stubble because there is just a small window of time between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing and “here we cannot provide machines to every farmer, and this compels cultivators to burn the rice crop residue for the timely sowing of wheat”.
“In the traditional model of agricultural extension, we go to farmers individually or in groups to demonstrate agricultural best practices,” he said, adding that “we need to disseminate authentic information to a large number of farmers and then use social media forums like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to propagate it further”.
Dr Singh said, “First we created a group of 100 farmers in the name of ‘Young Innovative Farmers’, including farm experts and authorities of district administration, where farmers started sharing their issues related to crop management and other agricultural issues and then we started providing them solutions. We also put videos to educate farmers about the incorporation of crop residue into the soil through machines and its benefits. Today 143 farmer WhatsApp groups across the state are using information shared by us.”
In April this year, the Pathankot agriculture department launched a YouTube Channel named “Meri Kheti Mera Maan” (My agriculture, my pride) in which various videos of farm experts are being shared on it. Around 1,500 farmers have already subscribed to the channel.
“Apart from this, we also educate farmers about selling the crop residue and make money out of it,” Dr Singh said.
In Pathankot, more than 15 lakh quintals of stubble is generated from 30,180 hectares of paddy area (in one acre more than 20 quintals of paddy straw is produced depending upon varieties).
“Cattle rearers use paddy straw as fodder in the lean period (May, June and July). Moreover, the straw of paddy and basmati is easily digestible by the milch animals. In Pathankot, there are over one lakh milch cattle, which can consume the entire stubble as fodder. The selling of stubble can help farmers earn extra income as well,” Dr Singh said, adding that “we manage to connect the farmers with the buyers who are mainly dairy farmers”.
Dr Singh informed that in every camp “we tell farmers that burning of residue results in loss of plant nutrients such as nitrogen, potash and sulphur, and it negatively affects the local microbial population and organic carbon. On the other hand, its incorporation into the soil increases nitrogen uptake which results in higher soil organic matter, organic carbon and microbial biomass, increases the potential for nutrient recycling, contributes to higher crop yields and improves the livelihood of farmers”.
The saving of around 15 lakh quintals of stubble from burning in Pathankot means “preventing the release of 2.2 lakh tonnes of harmful gases in the environment; a saving of Rs 5 crore for the farmers in the form of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash; and earning of Rs 8.80 crore for the farmers,” said Dr Singh.
This year Dr Singh’s mission is to make the district 100% stubble burning-free by managing the entire stubble, and for that he has already chalked out a four-month (August to November) long programme for the 421 villages of the district. The programme includes creating monitoring teams, raising awareness camps at village-level educating guardians of governance, sarpanches and school-college students, and spreading awareness through public address systems (temples, gurdwaras, etc.) involving the youth.
In a career span of 27 years, Dr Singh has won accolades for his contribution to the field of agriculture. He has received a number of awards and appreciation letters from the state government, Punjab Agriculture Department, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and other state governments as well. The award of “Best Extension Worker” in Punjab was also conferred on him.