{"id":11072,"date":"2021-03-04T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/?p=11072"},"modified":"2023-04-10T15:13:22","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T09:43:22","slug":"reducing-air-pollution-due-to-stubble-burning-in-northwest-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/reducing-air-pollution-due-to-stubble-burning-in-northwest-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Reducing air pollution due to stubble burning in Northwest India"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a predictability to the narrative around North India’s air pollution. Air that is unhealthy all year-round becomes unbreathable during winter, largely due to particulate matter in emissions from farm fires in Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh. This contributes to the portrayal of farmers as the primary architects<\/a> of Delhi’s air pollution crisis, and short-term solutions sustain only till the skies clear up.<\/p>

There is no denying that the effects of seasonal paddy stubble burning are severe—it causes an estimated loss<\/a> of 150,000 years of healthy life annually. Underlying stubble burning, however, is a paddy-wheat cropping system with wide-ranging effects on the region. The dominant practice of growing paddy in the kharif<\/em> (monsoon) season and wheat in the rabi<\/em> (winter) season, doesn’t only cause stubble burning. It has also caused Northwest India’s farm incomes to stagnate<\/a> and indebtedness<\/a> to increase, polluted<\/a> its environment, drained<\/a> its groundwater, degraded<\/a> its soil, and made it vulnerable<\/a> to climate change. <\/p>

Thus far, solutions supported by philanthropy have treated stubble burning as an isolated issue, focusing primarily on mechanised stubble management interventions<\/a>. Instead, donors and implementing nonprofits should address it as a part of Northwest India’s agricultural system, which is in need of repair.<\/p>

\"What<\/a><\/div>

Five key impacts of the paddy-wheat monoculture<\/strong><\/h3>

While paddy and wheat blanket agricultural land across Punjab and Haryana, they were not always so widespread. India’s persistent food shortages<\/a> in the early post-independence period were addressed<\/a> by the Green Revolution—a package of interventions focussed on increasing yields of rice and wheat. This involved introducing investments in irrigation, research into high-yielding crop varieties, subsidised chemical inputs such as fertilisers, and machinery, particularly in Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh. All of which led to a dramatic increase<\/a> in the yield of, and area under, wheat and paddy, and quickly replaced<\/a> the traditionally diverse mix of local crops.<\/p>

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Underlying stubble burning is a paddy-wheat cropping system with wide-ranging effects on the region.| Picture courtesy: ©2011CIAT\/NeilPalmer on Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>

However, despite significant changes to the environment and the economy since the 1960s, the policy environment continues to favour the paddy-wheat monoculture system. A range of negative externalities<\/a> have emerged and grown over time, most importantly including groundwater depletion, stubble burning, soil and water degradation, economic stagnation, and climate change vulnerability.<\/p>