Lucknow. The proverb about the price of mangoes and kernels will now come true in the lives of the farmers of UP. After harvesting the crop, the stubble which was considered a problem for them and the environment is now becoming a source of income and energy. This is becoming possible through CBG (Compressed Bio Gas) plant. Fuel is being prepared from stubble in the CBG plant and their stubble is being purchased from farmers as raw material for making fuel. At present ten CBG plants have become operational in Uttar Pradesh. In the coming time, their number will increase to hundred in the state. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has also announced this on the 8th of this month.
Due to increasing trend of mechanization and non-availability of labour, crops are now harvested using combines only. After harvesting the major Kharif and Rabi crops of paddy and wheat, the practice of burning the remains of these crops in preparation for the next crop is common. Due to this, this problem becomes serious in some areas especially due to moisture in the weather after paddy harvesting. The Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh is working hard to find a permanent solution to this problem. Till the time the schemes related to this are implemented, the government intends to reduce the problem of pollution caused by stubble burning by every possible means. In this direction, CBG plant has emerged as an excellent option.
In the draft of Uttar Pradesh State Bio Energy Policy 2022 prepared by the government, provision of various incentives has been made for agricultural waste based bio CNG, CBG units. The government intends to set up CBG plants in every district. In this series, Indian Oil’s CBG plant was inaugurated at Dhuriyapar in Gorakhpur on March 8. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who was present along with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on its inauguration occasion, had expressed his commitment to take the current number of CBG plants in UP from ten to hundred in the coming time.
In fact, this CBG plant of Gorakhpur with an investment of Rs 165 crore is a big effort towards protecting the environment, increasing the income of farmers and energy self-reliance. In this plant, 200 metric tons of stubble i.e. agricultural residue (paddy straw), 20 metric tons of press mud and 10 metric tons of cattle dung will be used daily. The biogas plant will produce about 20 metric tons of biogas and 125 metric tons of organic fertilizer per day. Organic fertilizers will help in increasing agricultural production. This type of plant directly means that Annadata farmers will play a big role in the energy sector also. And, by joining this energy production sector, they will also earn additional income. On the other hand, when stubble is not burnt, environmental protection will start happening automatically.
Along with encouraging CBG plants, the government has decided that it will provide bio decomposers to 17 lakh farmers to convert paddy straw into biocompost. Meanwhile, awareness and other campaigns will also continue.
What are the side effects of burning stubble?
If you are thinking of burning paddy straw after harvesting, then stop and think. You are going to spend your fortune with it, not just the farm. Because along with the stubble, the most essential nutrients for the crop, nitrogen, phosphorus and potash (NPK), along with billions of soil friendly bacteria and fungi are also burnt. The animals have their right to be killed like straw.
There is a treasure of nutrients in the stubble
Research has proved that the amount of NPK in the remaining stalks is 0.5, 0.6 and 1.5 percent respectively. If these are composted in the field instead of burning, this fertilizer will be available to the soil. Due to this, by saving about 25 percent fertilizers in the next crop, the cost of farming will be reduced by the same amount and the profit will increase by the same amount. Soil organic matter, survival of bacteria and fungi, environmental protection and reduction in global warming will be bonuses. According to a study by Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group, on burning of stubble per acre, apart from nutrients, 400 kg of useful carbon, 10-40 crore bacteria and 1-2 lakh fungi present per gram of soil are burnt.
According to Dr. BK Singh, former zonal manager of Uttar Pradesh Livestock Development Council, about 18 quintals of chaff is produced per acre of stalk. If the per quintal price of straw is considered to be around Rs 400 in the season, then straw worth Rs 7200 is destroyed in the form of stalks. Later this fodder becomes the cause of crisis.
other benefits
– Due to moist temperature of the soil covered with crop residue, the activity of microorganisms increases in it, which provide micronutrients for the next crop.
– By preserving the moisture of the soil covered with residue, the water holding capacity of the soil also increases. This reduces the cost of irrigation as less water is used. Besides this, scarce water is also saved.
Option
Instead of burning the stalk, plow it deeply and turn it in the field and irrigate it. For quick decomposition, 5 kg urea per acre can be sprayed before irrigation. Cultures are also available for this.