Agricultural Air Pollution: The Nuances of Stubble Burning in North India

India, in the 1960s, and in the years following independence, had a food climate that was characterized by scarcity. Agricultural practices were not sufficient to feed the nation, and so became the central issue to be addressed in the first Government of India's Five Year Plan. These agrarian efforts happened to be focused in North India, in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. However, the principles of productivity this scarcity gave rise to, still prevail in the eyes of the state and in the minds of many farmers nationwide. The purpose is to always produce more, and so we have a possible explanation for one of the most devastating contributors to India’s many issues with pollution: the twice-yearly stubble burning.

Stubble burning has been an issue in North India for many years now, and so, has been the subject of discussion in a variety of domains: among policy workers, farmers, and the state treasury, to name a few. If you live in North India, you’ve likely heard of this phenomenon. But what exactly is stubble burning? Stubble burning, put simply, is a means of clearing the soil for new crops following a harvest. In India, it occurs twice a year: once in April-May to clear wheat crop residue, and once in October-November to clear the soil for rabi crops such as mustard, wheat, and sunflower, among others. With India contributing a whopping 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, coupled with an already toxic air pollution issue in North India, it is easy, and often convenient, to place the blame on the farmers and their stubble burning. But is this the whole story?

First and foremost, the burning of stubble is a large contributor to issues of air pollution in the region, this is not being denied or going unacknowledged. It leads to the release of smoke, unburnt smoke particles, and carbon monoxide, all of which are highly detrimental to an already dire condition. However, the blowing over of these fumes are often blamed for all the air pollution in the region: an argument that displaces much of the blame that can instead be placed elsewhere. The roles played by other sections of society often go ignored: of corporations and the recent rapid growth of industrial modes of production in Haryana, of urban dwellers in Delhi owning more private vehicles than they know what to do with, and of the state for placing a (now) unnecessary importance on the volume of production, without providing reasonable means to stop the practice of stubble burning.

The state offered an incentive of INR 2400/acre to farmers who did not engage in stubble-burning practices. However, farmers who complied, more often than not, did not see a single rupee of this money. The fact of the matter was that the state treasury simply could not afford it. Other means of stopping this practice such as the introduction of eco-friendly ways of clearing the soil and even sowing over the cleared soil were not met with widespread adoption as they were simply too expensive an alternative. Even with the state footing the bill for 50% - 80% of the Happy Seeder, it requiring a tractor in addition to the expensive technology itself registered it as not financially viable for most farmers.

The solution that is being called for here, is an ideological one. The state must realize that India’s granaries are not empty as they once were. This ideology of surplus agricultural production is one that has consequences in addition to the burning of stubble — Punjab’s very topography was not wholly suited to paddy farming and is now witnessing troublingly low groundwater levels. Farmers realize that this mode of production-intensive farming is unsustainable, but are at odds to do anything about it till the state does not provide them with comprehensive, viable, and implementable solutions.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54930380