A report on Integrated Crop Residue Management in India Presented by Dr. C R Mehta (Director & PC, AICRP on FIM, ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal) at ESCAP’s Subregional Office for South and South-West Asia and the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) on 15 September 2022
India generates 683 million tonnes of crop residue, over half of which is from three states ‐ Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Among the different crops, paddy straw constitutes 40% of all crop residue burned. The short time interval between harvesting and planting of the next crop, scarcity of labour, high cost of collection and transportation, lack of storage and market facilities, high cost of mechanically ploughing stubble back into the field, and paddy straw being less preferred as ruminant feed were key factors influencing farmers decision to burn crop residue.
In‐situ management of crop residues was the most relevant technique for the sub‐region as it was environmentally and financially sustainable and would improve soil health and productivity in the long run. Ex‐situ management techniques to be considered in other countries included domestic/community level biogas production from paddy straw, use of biomass pellets for thermal power generation as well as power generation from crop residues.