Promoting crop diversification and shifting to a short duration paddy crop in Punjab can help reduce the stubble burning problem and its impact on air pollution in the national capital, National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) CEO Ashok Dalwai said on Tuesday.
Paddy can be grown in other parts of the country but not wheat which requires winter, he said, adding the state government should educate farmers to shift to non-paddy crops by providing some incentive.
Delhi-NCR has been engulfed in air pollution since the Diwali festival on October 27.
"One solution is to grow short-duration paddy varieties. If we are able to harvest by September, then farmers will get a longer window to undertake proper harvesting and prepare the land for wheat sowing," Dalwai told PTI.
At present, the window for paddy harvesting is around 20-25 days, putting pressure on farmers to get rid of the crop residue and prepare the land for sowing wheat. On top of it, they are facing a labour shortage, he said.
Since Punjab has low groundwater levels and paddy being a water-guzzling crop, Dalwai said, "It is better we shift from paddy cultivation and grow more water-efficient crops like oilseeds and maize. That would solve the problem."
"Whereas wheat cannot be grown everywhere as winter is required. So, wheat cannot be compromised. That has to be here. So, we can look at an alternative for paddy in north India."
Stating that the country has many short-duration paddy varieties, Dalwai said, "We need to promote them. One needs to look at yields level to encourage farmers to shift. This is not something impossible to do. We can always test these varieties and do it."
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