Creating awareness among farmers crucial to curb stubble burning:Chouhan

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday that creating awareness among farmers is crucial to curb stubble burning as he suggested active involvement of panchayats, local representatives, and nodal officers at village level for management of crop residues.

Ahead of paddy harvesting season, Chouhan chaired a key meeting here on stubble management along with Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav.

According to an official statement, the meeting was attended virtually by Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Haryana Agriculture Minister Shyam Singh Rana, Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, and Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

The meeting focused on strategies to curb air pollution caused by stubble burning, promote better utilisation of paddy residue, and enhance awareness, financial support, monitoring, crop management, and diversification among farmers, it added.

At the start of this meeting, agriculture ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh briefed about the status of stubble management in their respective states.

They informed that implementation of stubble management schemes is being carried out with full commitment, with officers and field departments actively engaged in the task.

The Haryana agriculture minister highlighted that the state is encouraging farmers not to burn stubble by providing financial assistance.

Chouhan appreciated the efforts made by these states to check stubble pollution and reduce air pollution, but felt that continuous and sustained efforts are necessary to achieve larger goals.

He emphasised that "awareness among farmers is crucial and suggested that panchayats, local representatives, and nodal officers should be actively involved at the village level to achieve better outcomes." Chouhan further discussed issues related to crop management, direct seeding, diversification, effective utilisation of allocated funds and monitoring mechanisms.

The Union Agriculture Minister urged these states to promote direct seeding in their respective regions and announced that he will personally begin direct wheat sowing in his own field on October 12, immediately after the paddy harvesting process.

"When farmers see me doing it, they too will be encouraged to adopt direct sowing,” he said and urged farmers to use rotavators, choppers, bio-decomposers, and mulching equipment.

Chouhan stressed on promoting bio-CNG and ethanol plants to utilise crop residues effectively.

The Union Agriculture Minister directed states to ensure that available funds for stubble management are spent efficiently, so that the availability of machinery does not become an issue.

He also stressed the need to prioritise crop diversification as part of long-term efforts.

"With coordinated efforts between the Centre and the states, the incidents of stubble burning will certainly reduce further in the coming days,” he said.

"Real-time or on-ground monitoring is essential. I am confident that with sustained efforts, we will achieve better outcomes and succeed in protecting the environment and climate," Chouhan said.

Union Environment Minister Yadav emphasised on enhanced coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture and state governments over the next 10 days.

He stressed the importance of stubble collection and storage to ensure its proper industrial utilisation, highlighting the potential use of stubble in brick kilns and thermal power plants.

The meeting was also attended by Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi, ICAR Director General M L Jat, and other senior officials from both ministries. PTI MJH ANU