Mitigating agricultural residue burning: challenges and solutions across land classes in Punjab, India

Krishnapriya, P P and Pattanayak, S K and Somanathan, E and Keil, A and Jat, M L and Sidhu, H S and Shyamsundar, P (2024) Mitigating agricultural residue burning: challenges and solutions across land classes in Punjab, India. Environmental Research: Food Systems, 1 (1). pp. 1-14. ISSN 2976-601X

PDF - Published Version Available under License ["licenses_description_cc_attribution" not defined]. Download (935kB)

Abstract

India faces significant air quality challenges, contributing to local health and global climate concerns. Despite a national ban on agricultural residue burning and various incentive schemes, farmers in northern India continue to face difficulties in curbing open-field burning. Using data from 1021 farming households in rural Punjab in India, we examine the patterns and drivers of the adoption of no-burn agriculture, particularly for farmers who mulch instead of burning crop residue. We find a growing trend in no-burn farming practices among farmers between 2015 and 2017, with the highest adoption rates among large farmers compared to medium and small farmers. Our findings suggest that access to equipment and learning opportunities may increase the likelihood of farmers using straw as mulch instead of burning it. Specifically, social learning appears to increase the likelihood of farmers embracing no-burn practices relative to learning from extension agencies. Furthermore, the form of learning depends on farm size. While large and medium farmers exhibit a variety of learning strategies, small farmers primarily self-learn. These results underscore the importance of a multiprong policy that provides sufficient access to equipment and a combination of learning platforms that enabling farmers from different land classes to adopt no-burn technologies.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Global Research Program - Resilient Farm and Food Systems
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	agricultural residue burning, social networks, India, mulching, technology adoption
Subjects:	Others > Climate Change Others > India
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	06 Mar 2024 03:23
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2024 03:23
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12541
Official URL:	https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2976-60...
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	We also acknowledge partners associated with the Indian Statistical Institute, Borlaug Institute for South Asia, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), who served as advisors and helped launch data collection efforts in Punjab, India, and Duke University for providing post-doctoral research support.
Links:	Google Scholar

View Statistics

Actions (login required)

View Item