Young farmers innovate to manage paddy straw in dist

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, October 14

A group of young farmers have set an example by cultivating rabi crops without burning the stubble during last several years. They have been adopting different techniques to manage the straw in the fields.

Gurbinder Singh Bajwa of Sarchur village, a leading motivational and farming guide, is now visiting the villages to motivate the farmers to adopt simple techniques to manage straw instead of costly mechanised solutions.

“We asked the farmers to prefer the mulching technique and sow the wheat crop without tillage. It is a cost-effective technique. The farmers spent two litres of diesel to manage straw and cultivate the wheat crop. It is the best method and hundreds of farmers have successfully adopted this. The farmers need a cutter-cum-spreader, which cuts and spreads the

straw in the field. The farmers are advised to spread the seed before the mulching or drill it after spreading the straw in the field. The wheat plants would grow and come out from the mulching,” said Bajwa.

“The crop residue is rich in nitrogen, potash and several other nutrients. The farmers set these nutrients on fire and then use fertilisers. This mulching technique also helps reduce the use of fertilisers,” he added.

More than 300 farmers are now organised under the banner of Young Innovative Farmers Group. They not only suggest innovative techniques but also make the farmers aware about the market tactics of pesticides, fertilisers and machine tool industry.

“There are a large number of costly machines available in the market for straw management. Farmers often get lured by the machine tool companies and agents of multinational brands. They spend Rs 2.50 lakh on such machines which are no better than the basic rotavator and drill machines. We are making the farmers aware on not spending much on the machines. They have to get high-power tractors to operate such machines. The straw can be easily managed in the field with a rotavator.