A mixed-methods community-based participatory research to explore stakeholder’s perspectives and to quantify the effect of crop residue burning on air and human health in Central India: study protocol

Abstract Background Crop residue burning adversely affects air quality and consequently human health. India, being one of the largest agro-economies of the world, produces around 500 Million tonnes of crop residue annually most of which is burnt on-farm. However, integrated studies that simultaneously quantify the effects of crop residue burning while exploring the subjective determinants of the practice are lacking in India. This paper describes the protocol for a longitudinal mixed methods research study employing a community-based participatory approach to fill this gap. Methods Both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected in a rural setting of the central Indian province of Madhya Pradesh, over 1 year. A steering committee comprising of the research team and community representatives will be formed. The proportion of cultivable land burnt in one crop burning season will be estimated. The association between crop residue burning, level of ambient air pollutants, and pulmonary function of village residents will be determined. Focus groups, interviews, and participatory rural appraisal methods will be used to explore stakeholder perspectives about crop residue burning. Potential barriers and opportunities for substituting burning with an alternative crop residue management technique will be ascertained as the basis for future interventions. Ethics approval has been obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee of the National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (No: NIREH/BPL/IEC/2019–20/1494, dt 06/01/2020). Discussion This manuscript describes the protocol for a novel community-based participatory study to investigate thoroughly the phenomenon of crop residue burning from the perspective of the agricultural community through their active collaboration. The lack of comprehensive evidence regarding the factors responsible for crop residue burning in India underlines the importance of implementing this study protocol to fill in this critical gap in knowledge. While acknowledging that findings of this study will be not generalizable to agricultural communities other than the one studied, it is expected that the study will generate baseline evidence that might be beneficial in developing and implementing an appropriate intervention strategy.

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Assessment of Farmers’ Perception about Crop Residue Burning in Haryana

10.48165/ijee.2022.58119 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 85-88

Author(s):

Anuradha Choudhary ◽

K. S. Kadian ◽

M. S. Meena

Keyword(s):

Power Plants ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Residue Management ◽

Mushroom Cultivation ◽

Management Options ◽

Community Based ◽

Alternative Crop ◽

Long Run ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Selection Of

The study was conducted in 2019-2020 to assess the perception of the farmers on cropresidue burning (CRB) in Haryana. A total of 180 farmers from three purposively selecteddistricts, namely Karnal, Kurukshetra, and Fatehabad from Haryana, were chosen to collectdata. Stratified random sampling was employed in the selection of blocks, villages, andrespondents. For measuring farmers’ perception, a scale was constructed using Likert’smethod of summated ratings. Farmers perceived CRB as an economical and viable optionand considered it an efficient practice. Most farmers did not perceive the happy seeder asfeasible since it needed a high horsepower tractor. Farmers’ perception was positively andsignificantly correlated with education, operational land holding, and annual income (P<0.05).Hence, there is a need to promote community-based approaches like custom hiring centre,bio-mass-based power plants, mushroom cultivation, etc., through extension and advisoryservices. It may lead to adopting alternative crop residue management options and mitigatingresidue burning in the long run.

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Understanding seasonal variation in ambient air quality and its relationship with crop residue burning activities in an agrarian state of India

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-021-15631-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sahil Mor ◽

Tanbir Singh ◽

Narsi Ram Bishnoi ◽

Santosh Bhukal ◽

Khaiwal Ravindra

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Variation ◽

Air Quality ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Ambient Air Quality ◽

Crop Residue Burning

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MITIGATION OF CROP RESIDUE BURNING INDUCED AIR POLLUTION IN NEW DELHI – A REVIEW

International Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences and Technology ◽

10.33564/ijeast.2020.v05i08.045 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (8) ◽

Author(s):

Gopalakrishnan Srinivasan ◽

Arumugam Abirami

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Residue Management ◽

New Delhi ◽

Municipal Solid Wastes ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Short Time ◽

Indian Industries ◽

Stubble Burning

The atmosphere of New Delhi during the months of October to the January next year (every year) remains critical due to factors such as stubble burning in the nearby state of Punjab, air pollution rising out of Diwali fireworks and the smog during December and January. Stubble burning is the intentional incineration of paddy / any other field stubbles by farmers after the harvest. It is usually done to eliminate pests such as rats, crickets and hoppers. The availability of short time between rice harvesting and sowing of wheat is the most important reason for burning of crop residues. Also yield and quality of wheat gets severely affected if there is delay in sowing. Since the time gap is very limited (about 3 – 4 weeks) between rice and wheat, burning of crop residues is preferred since it is the quickest and easiest solution for the farmers. According to reports, New Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad recorded a peak Air Quality Index (AQI) of around 480 – 490 in the month of November 2019. Health effects of air pollution include respiratory diseases, skin and eye irritation and other ailments. An important factor is shortage of labor contributing to burning of rice straw. Apart from stubble burning, farmers burn wood for domestic cooking, removal of municipal solid wastes and accidental / intentional wildfires. Use of combined harvester – Happy Seeder machine is a profitable and less labour-intensive management of rice residue. Yet many farmers still have the perception that there are no alternative solutions for crop residue management. Besides Happy Seeder machine, there are other machines such as rotavator, reaper binder and no-till seed drill that can be alternatives for crop residue burning. In 2019 – 20, the Punjab government disbursed a certain amount to farmers for not burning stubble as compensation, yet many farmers adopted the stubble burning process. Other measures such as adoption of villages by Confederation of Indian Industries, MoU with institutes for wast

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Quantification of crop residue burning in the field and its influence on ambient air quality in Suqian, China

Atmospheric Environment ◽

10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.12.007 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 42 (9) ◽

pp. 1961-1969 ◽

Cited By ~ 91

Author(s):

Shijian Yang ◽

Hongping He ◽

Shangling Lu ◽

Dong Chen ◽

Jianxi Zhu

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Ambient Air Quality ◽

Crop Residue Burning

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Enhanced Ozone Production in Ambient Air at Patiala Semi-Urban Site During Crop Residue Burning Events

MAPAN ◽

10.1007/s12647-019-00315-x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 273-288

Author(s):

Madhvi Rana ◽

Susheel K. Mittal ◽

Gufran Beig

Keyword(s):

Crop Residue ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Ozone Production ◽

Urban Site ◽

Crop Residue Burning

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COVID-19 pandemic and sudden rise in crop residue burning in India: issues and prospects for sustainable crop residue management

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-021-17550-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Khaiwal Ravindra ◽

Tanbir Singh ◽

Suman Mor

Keyword(s):

Crop Residue ◽

Residue Management ◽

Crop Residue Management ◽

Sudden Rise ◽

Crop Residue Burning

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Assessment of Happy Seeder for Direct Sowing of Wheat without Burning of Rice Residue

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology ◽

10.9734/cjast/2019/v37i630339 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-4

Author(s):

Ram Pal ◽

Ratan Kumar ◽

R. K. Jalal ◽

R. K. Sohane

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Nutrient Recycling ◽

Soil Health ◽

Residue Management ◽

Irrigated Rice ◽

Farm Mechanization ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Direct Sowing

Air pollution from crop residue burning in India is an environmental menace that makes headlines every year – is a major ill effect of farm mechanization. Keeping the severity of the problem in view, KVK, Rohtas introduced happy seeder in Rabi 2016-17 with objective to assess its suitability for crop residue management. The intensively cultivated irrigated rice–wheat area is fundamental to employment, income and livelihoods for about three million population of the district. Happy seeder of Kamboj make, Zero-till machine of National make and local made seed drill were used for comparative study of residue management. Seed drill was used where rice residue were completely burned before sowing. Zero-till machine was used where about 50% residue was remais after buring. The significant change were observed in plant population, bundel weight and grain yield in these trials with respect to farmers practice. It is concluded that happy seeder not only improves the farmers income but also conserve the most of the production inputs. Reduction in green house gass emission, nutrient recycling, soil health improvemnt are added advantages of happy seeder technology.

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Nexus Between Crop Residue Burning, Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development Goals Over North-Western India

Frontiers in Energy Research ◽

10.3389/fenrg.2020.614212 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

V. Venkatramanan ◽

Shachi Shah ◽

Ashutosh Kumar Rai ◽

Ram Prasad

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Production ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Air Pollutant ◽

Residue Management ◽

Soil Productivity ◽

Western India ◽

Crop Residue Management ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

North Western

The crop residue burning in India particularly North-western India is responsible for air pollution episodes and public health concerns; greenhouse gases emissions and radiation imbalance; and declining soil organic matter and soil productivity. The objectives of this paper are to estimate the crop residue burning and emissions from crop residue burning, to recommend interventions in crop residue management and to propose a crop residue management-bioeconomy model incorporating strategies to sustainably manage the crop residues through interventions that enable waste valorization, food and nutritional security, farmers’ livelihood and sustainable agricultural production system. A national inventory on crop residue burning including the pollutant species was prepared using the IPCC methodology. The crop types included for the estimation are cereals, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton, jute and Mesta. The total amount of crop residues generated and burned for the year 2017–18 was estimated at 516 million tonnes and 116 million tonnes respectively. It is estimated that 116.3 Tg of crop residues burning released about 176.1 Tg of CO2, 10 Tg of CO, 313.9 Gg of CH4, 8.14 Gg of N2O, 151.14 Gg of NH3, 813.8 Gg of NMVOC, 453.4 Gg of PM2.5, and 935.9 Gg of PM10. The emission estimates can be a proxy to prepare the national level inventory of air pollutant species from crop residue burning. The crop residue management (CRM) demands a transition from the traditional zone of CRM to bioeconomy zone of CRM, wherein the interventions aim at the sustainability of agroecosystem. The proposed bioeconomy model has a four-pronged strategy that includes smart agriculture practices, waste bioeconomy involving aspirational principles of bioeconomy, capacity building of stakeholders’ and proactive government policy. Sustainable agricultural bioeconomy provides ample opportunities to reduce crop residue burning, increase farmers’ livelihood and decarbonize the agricultural production. India’s efforts and policies can provide lessons for other agricultural regions having similar environmental constraints.

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