Karnal farmers provide 15,000 MT of paddy straw to ethanol unit in Panipat
Showing the way to farmers, nearly 200 custom hiring centres (CHCs), involving 10-15 farmers in each district, have so far provided around 15,000 MT of paddy straw to the Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s second generation (2G) ethanol plant in Panipat. For this purpose, six collection yards have been set up in the district where crop residue is kept after processing and later shifted to the plant which converts crop residue into ethanol.
The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Karnal district, has set a target of providing 1 lakh MT of stubble bundles to the plant, for which the IOCL provides Rs 1,900 per tonne to the CHC or farmers.
“We have set a target to manage nearly 2 lakh MT of paddy straw through in situ methods and 5.5 lakh MT through ex situ methods. About 1 lakh MT is used as fodder. We will provide 1 lakh MT of paddy stubble to the IOCL, Panipat, which will be generated through ex situ. Nearly 200 CHCs have provided 15,000 MT of paddy. The remaining will also be supplied soon. We have set up paddy straw collection centres for IOCL at Bandrala, Amupur, Agondh, Bhambarehri, Jamalpur and other places,” said Dr Wazir Singh, Deputy Director, Agriculture (DDA), Karnal.
“Farmers and members of the CHCs drop the bundles of stubble after collecting them from the farmers. The IOCL transfers the payment into the accounts of the farmers,” the DDA asserted.
Karnal district has 5.6 lakh acres of cultivable land, with a net sown area of 5.25 lakh acres, of which 4.25 lakh acres are under paddy cultivation. Of this, 1.50 lakh acres are dedicated to basmati rice. The paddy crop generates nearly 8.5 lakh metric tons (MT) of straw, with around 3 lakh MT coming from basmati and nearly 5.50 lakh MT from non-basmati varieties.
The DDA said that farmers are coming forward to manage the paddy straw. For the current season, 1,694 farmers have applied for stubble management machines. Super Seeder is used in in situ method, which involves incorporating stubble into the soil, while Slasher, Hay Rake and Balers, which work together for ex situ method, involves lifting the stubble from the fields and supplying it to stubble-based industries in the form of bundles.
