Management of Paddy Straw in Punjab: An Economic Analysis of Different Techniques

The study analyses the economics of wheat cultivation under different methods of paddy straw management. Data were collected during 2017-18 from 85 farmers from Ludhiana and Sangrur districts of Punjab practicing paddy straw management techniques (wet mixing of straw, dry mixing of straw and Happy seeder) as well as conventional method of wheat sowing after burning paddy straw. The study found that Happy seeder was the most profitable technique in managing paddy straw before sowing of wheat. The use of Happy seeder helped in saving of water by 732 m3, tractor use by 27.47 per cent, reduction of particulate matter by 18 kg, CO by 360 kg, CO2 by 8.76 t, ash by 1.2 t and SO2 by 12 kg per ha. However, non-availability of high HP tractor and Happy seeder, rodent attack, and non-decomposition of straw were the major problems faced by the farmers in the adoption of this technology. The study brought out that the farmers are well aware about the health hazards posed by burning straw but due to shortage of labour and short window of time between paddy harvesting and sowing of wheat compels them to easily resort to burning of paddy straw. The study suggests for paying farmers for ecosystem services by adding paddy residue management cost in the MSP of wheat. Implementation of this requires real-time data management using Artificial Intelligence, remote sensing and GIS.