Punjab has been facing the scourge of burning of paddy straw for more than two decades now.
In spite of a ban issued by the government in this regard, farmers continue to set afire the paddy residue in the fields, in the absence of any viable alternative. As a result, October onwards there is a haze over the countryside since this residue, being moisture and silica rich, keeps burning for days together. This residue cannot be plouged back either. Since it is rich in silica, decomposition takes a long time.
However, the introduction of hi-tech farming equipment has given the farmers an alternative to earn from the residue. Bio-mass power projects in the state have started using paddy straw as an input for power production, and are paying farmers for supplying the raw material.
There are seven million acres of land under paddy cultivation in Punjab. An acre of land yields in 25-30 quintals of crop residue. Thus, the aggregate crop residue comes to approximately 175 million quintals, of which more than 90 per cent paddy straw is burnt. According to T P S Sidhu, Chief Executive Officer of Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), “Use of paddy straw to produce electricity at bio-mass power projects will be a win-win situation for the farmers, the state and the power plants.”
The 8 MW bio-mass power plant of Dee Development Engineering Private Ltd near Abohar in Ferozepur district, and its sister-concern, the 7.5 MW Malwa Power Private Ltd in Muktsar district, started using paddy straw about two weeks ago, as one of the inputs. Both units supply power to Punjab State Electricity Board.
Talking to The Indian Express, Commercial Manager Dee Development Dr Ratan Goyal said the two plants use 250 to 275 metric tonnes of bio-mass daily, including wheat straw, paddy straw, cotton sticks, wood chips, etc. “Of this, 10 to 15 per cent comprises paddy straw, which equals to about 25 metric tonnes. Our target is to use 20 to 25 per cent of paddy straw daily, pushing up our requirement to 50-60 metric tonnes,” he said.
Dr Goyal revealed that while exact payment has not been finalised, the firm will pay approximately Rs 700 per metric tonne to farmers per metric tonne of paddy straw. He added that since paddy straw is available from October to mid-November when harvesting is done, the plants will also store it for future use. “Our target is to collect 20,000 metric tonnes of paddy straw for both the plants. We are giving an additional benefit to farmers. If a farmer transports the straw bales within 10 kilometers of the plant, we will give him an additional Rs 15 per quintal as transport charges,” he pointed out.
The two power plants have four sets of balers, which they have deployed at farms to make bales of paddy straw. The farming activity to make bales of paddy straw employs a chopper to cut the straw to ground level, a rake and a baler. The three agricultural equiments cost Rs 13 lakh, and each is attached to a tractor.
Zamindara Farmsolutions, a farming equipment bank, is buying the balers from John Deere Equipment Pvt Ltd. The firm will let out the balers and other equipment to the farmers to make bales. Director of the company Vikram Ahuja said burning of paddy straw leads to emission of carbon-dioxide and soot in the air. “Burning the field also dries up the natural moisture of soil, destroys its texture and kills friendly pests and birds. Effective management of paddy residue will be a great environment-friendly activity,” he said.
Mukul Varshney, Sales and Marketing Head (Harvesting and Crop Solutions Dept) of John Deere said the balers have been imported from the USA and can operate on tractors with 40 horsepower. “Paddy straw can be used by bio-mass power projects, the dairy industry, paper industry, co-generation plants etc. They can process 12 to 15 tonnes of straw per day in 10 to 12 hours,” he added.
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