हिंदी
SAY NO TO BURNING PADDY STUBBLE: YOUNG FARMERS FROM VILLAGE MEHAL KALAN HAVE NOT BEEN BURNING STUBBLE FOR PAST 4 YEARS
EMERGE AS EXAMPLE FOR OTHER FARMERS TO FOLLOW
SAY FARMERS SHOULD TAKE MAXIMUM ADVANTAGE OF GOVT SUBSIDY ON AGRICULTURE IMPLEMENTS FOR STUBBLE MANAGEMENT
Mehal Kalan /Barnala, Sep 8 2021
The young farmers Kamalpreet Singh and Bhupinder Singh from village Mehal Kalan have not been burning paddy stubble in their farms for the past 4 years. They are now also guiding other farmers to follow their model of managing paddy stubble and gaining the best in terms of crop productivity and better health of soil.
Farmer Kamalpreet Singh said that he four years ago, he came across a dreary road accident caused due to thick smog that takes over region when farm fires combine with winter fog. “It was then that I decided to say no to burning paddy stubble. I did not want to be a contributor towards harming precious lives in any way,” he reminisces.
He started with 20 acres of land where he had been cultivating potato. “It turned out to be miraculous. Apart from lesser inputs and better output, my soil beamed with the best of its health,” he says. He is doing farming in around 150 acres of land and has gradually left off the paddy stubble burning practice.After harvesting the paddy crop, Kamalpreet first uses mulcher, followed by rotavator and ploughs the entire stubble back into soil. Using the drill, he plants the seeds and has been getting a good harvest. He is getting around 22 to 25 quintals of yield per acre.
“When initially I left the farms without fires, the number of earthworms and other farmer friendly insects increased by quantum. I committed a mistake by continuing usage of fertilizer in my farms despite the fact that nature had already blessed me with a number of creatures to do the same,” he says.
Kamalpreet adds that government gives plenty of subsidy on all kinds of instruments for paddy stubble management. He calls upon youngsters to use this subsidy and ensure healthier farms and healthier people.
Similarly, another young farmer Bhupinder Singh has not been burning paddy stubble in his farm for the past 4 years. He has noticed increase in yield by 1.5 to 2 quintals per acre apart from the fact that he is using lesser fertilizers and pesticides for growing the crops.
He adds that not only paddy, but even wheat crop planted subsequently has shown great improvement in quality, he too uses mulcher in his farm followed by rotavator and then ploughs the entire stubble back into soil. “I have always dreamt on giving my children the best in terms of health. As a father its my prime duty to ensure that my children do not suffer anymore losses due to such negligent acts of setting paddy stubble on fire,” he says.
