What’s the Problem?
Every winter, air pollution spikes in north India due to a mix of vehicle and industrial emissions, trapped by cold weather.
Stubble burning by farmers — especially in Punjab and Haryana — adds significantly to this pollution.
Farmers burn leftover rice stubble because it's the cheapest and fastest way to prepare fields for the next wheat crop.
Studies show stubble burning contributes up to 35% of the pollution in Delhi during October–November.
How Policy and Market Systems Make It Worse
Government encourages more rice and wheat production through MSP (Minimum Support Price), pushing farmers into mono-cropping.
This leads to heavy stubble generation, but no affordable solutions for disposal.
Farmers are penalised for burning stubble, yet lack alternatives and support.
They are also trapped in debt by middlemen (arhatias), who control crop prices and loans.
The market system makes stubble burning a survival strategy, not a personal choice.
What the Study Found
Researchers interviewed farmers from Punjab and analysed news reports.
Farmers feel caught in a system that:
Promotes harmful practices (like stubble burning),
Favors urban over rural interests,
Provides no fair pricing or crop choices,
Punishes them without offering viable support.
The root problem is not farmer behaviour but broken policies and market failures.
What Can Be Done
Build a market for stubble-based products (like fodder, fuel pellets, packaging).
Strengthen the value chain so stubble becomes a source of income, not waste.
Improve price transparency and fairness in crop sales.
Use a mix of policies:
Ban, permit, or incentivise stubble use, depending on the context.
Encourage cultural shifts to reduce unnecessary spending pressures on farmers (e.g., using religious groups to promote modest living).
Focus on long-term solutions involving both state and market actors.
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