To combat crop-residue burning, New Holland Agriculture launches campaign

New Holland Agriculture, one of the leading agriculture equipment manufacturer, has relaunched its straw management campaign to combat crop-residue burning in the Kallar Majri village in Patiala district of Punjab recently. The campaign was launched in the village, in the presence of officials of Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab, senior official from New Holland Agriculture and farmers from Kallar Majri and nearby villages.
The project was originally initiated by the Department of Agriculture (DOA), a few years ago to encourage farmers to use environment friendly techniques to manage crop-residue instead of burning in on the fields. Last year, New Holland Agriculture joined the project under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme by providing its machinery for straw management, together with all necessary training and technical support to carry out this initiative.
New Holland Agriculture has also collaborated with the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of Haryana, to prevent the age-old practice of on-field burning of crop-residue and to create awareness about the benefits of responsible straw management.
In Haryana, the project was launched in Pardhana and Dangra village in Panipat and Fatehabad district in the presence of the Haryana Agriculture Department officials, senior officials from New Holland Agriculture, dealers of New Holland Agriculture and farmers from the nearby villages.
Under this project, New Holland Agriculture has offered its machinery including tractor, baler, mulcher, rake, forklift to the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Haryana, which will use these machines to encourage farmers in Dangra and nearby villages to adopt eco-friendly and profitable methods for straw management instead of burning it. Besides providing its straw management solutions, New Holland Agriculture will also provide all necessary training and technical support to carry out this project.
India generates around 620 million tonnes of crop-residue annually, which has significant nutrient potential. However, most of it is burnt on the fields taking air pollution to dangerously high levels. Crop-residue burning also results in haze, leading to the outbreak of breathing ailments, particularly in northern India. The on-farm burning of crop-residues has intensified in recent years as low cost and easily adaptable technologies for its handling and management are unavailable, and the window between harvesting one crop and sowing the next is extremely short.
Speaking on the occasion, Barjinder Singh, Product Manager, Crop Solution at New Holland Agriculture said, “Approximately 35 million tonnes of paddy straw and stubble are burned every year in Punjab and Haryana. This not only pollutes the environment but also reduces the productivity by deteriorating the soil quality. New Holland Agriculture offers the most sustainable and economically-viable solutions for crop-residue management, which not only prevent environmental pollution but also offer additional revenue to the farmers.”