Punjab, Haryana farmers take to FB to fight crop fires

CHANDIGARH:With the governments of Punjab and Haryana struggling to end stubble burning in their states, some farmers have taken to social media to suggest ways to manage the menace effectively ahead of paddy harvest. The first fires gain pace in early October and are seen as one of the key factors for pollution in Delhi.

While many farmers are reluctant to adopt new technologies, this new breed of mostly young, tech-savvy farmers have started posting videos and pictures of machines and technique to clear the stubble from the fields after harvest without starting fires.

In one such video posted by Harinder Singh Riar of

Bhamri

village in

Gurdaspur

on Facebook, he is seen with a combine harvester fitted with a straw management system (SMS) instrument for harvesting paddy . A progressive farmer, Riar is seen allaying fears of farmers about loss of grain with these harvesters. Riar says Facebook has proved to be an effective medium to spread the word about newer ways to tackle crop residue. “I have got over a hundred phone calls from farmers who want to get their paddy harvested using the SMS-fitted combine harvesters,“ he adds. “Though some of them were wary and didn't seem impressed, a majority have agreed to get their crop harvested through this new technique. I also spoke to the farmers who were skeptical about this method to deal with the crop residue but they got convinced when I recounted the benefits.“

Sources told TOI that the farmers are now seeking out newer ways to clear their fields as state governments have started imposing fines on violators under pressure from the National Green Tribunal. The fines range from Rs 2,500 per acre up to Rs 15,000.

Even Harpreet Singh of Kalvehri village in Karnal dis trict of Haryana has taken to Facebook urge fellow farmers to use both mulcher and rotavator to clear paddy stubble.He has put videos and pictures of paddy stubble being cleared using mulcher followed by rotavator. “Slowly, the idea is spreading,“ says the farmer, who is also a pioneer in directseeded rice (DSR) cultivation.

He says he hired the mulcher and rotavator machines from Randhir Singh of

Shubhri

village and Sanjeev Kumar of Phusgarh village--both from Karnal district--to prepare his fields after paddy harvest. “It costs about Rs 2,0002,200 to prepare the field for the next crop and you can clear one acre in about two hours,“ says Sanjeev , who bought the mulcher for Rs 1.75 lakh and the eight-foot rotavator for Rs 1 lakh last year. He says the government should spread the message about the need to end burning of crop residue so use of IT-driven social media is the right platform.

Another Fb group 'JD & NH FaN's CLub' in Punjab has sought views on ways to deal with crop stubble. Its video, posted on Sept 18, has got 111 likes in which farmers are seen going to fields to check out paddy being harvested using SMS-fitted combine harvesters.

Rotavator

Rotavator (rotary tiller) is a machine with rotating blades for breaking up or tilling the soil. It is used to plough and mix the crop stubble back into soil, which is left uncut by the combine harvesters. It is usually four, six and eight feet in length and is operated by tractors with varying horsepower.

Mulcher

Mulcher is an implement with blades that shreds and chops the grass or crop stubble finely, which can be mixed into the soil to make it decompose easily by the microorganisms.