Punjab Smog: Beyond Penalties to Economic Solutions

Every fall, when a cold inversion blankets the plains of Punjab, a familiar layer of amber-grey haze obscures the horizon. Air Quality Index (AQI) monitors across Pakistan in cities such as Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Lahore, Faisalabad, etc. exceed the hazardous limits of PM2.5 (fine particulate) of 400-500 regularly. Industrial emissions and traffic noise are around-the-clock pollutants, but the sharp increase in the post-monsoon season is in synchrony with the harvesting of paddy fields throughout the rice-wheat belt.

The Punjab Environment Protection & Climate Change Department (EPCCD) and district administrations have stepped up enforcement utilising imposed Section 144 bans, implemented drone surveillance, registered FIRs (First Information Reports) and imposed heavy fines on farmers who burn stubble. However, despite a strong policing presence, a smoke plume has persisted every October/November.

However, to end this seasonal crisis, policymakers and citizens need to think beyond punitive measures and recognise that stubble burning for the average smallholder farmer of the Punjab is not a defiant act, but an economic calculation.

The Narrow Window: Understanding the Farmer's Dilemma

Punjab is producing more than 3.5 million tons of rice every year. Most farmers practice a fixed rice-wheat cropping calendar. No more than 10 to 20 days after the rice crop is cut with a combine, there is a critical window for harvest when farmers may be forced to combine the last bit of rice or dig it up by hand to salvage some of the crop.

In this short time, they have to clear the ground, plow the compacted earth, and plant wheat. Wheat yield losses are about 1% per day from mid-November onward with late planting and impact food security and incomes.

Paddy residue has to be removed manually and this labour is scarce and expensive during harvest. Fuel and equipment to operate mechanized clearing with heavy machinery is beyond the reach of most smallholders (those with less than 12.5 acres of land). A box of matches on the other hand, costs a few rupees and will clear an acre in 2 hours. Administrative bans will have a difficult time until clean residue management is less expensive and quicker than burning.

In recent years, the Government of the Punjab has taken steps forward on the introduction of mechanized alternatives,  such as the successful subsidy assistance programme for distribution of modern equipment:

• Happy Seeders & Pak Seeders: These are tractor-mounted machines which both drill wheat seed into unplowed soil and cut and chop rice straw into the field as an organic mulch.
• Super Seeders: These are machines that can till the soil, straw, and seed in one tractor pass.
• Straw Balers: Machines used to collect straw in neat, handy, rectangular or round bales.

Tractor Horsepower Deficits: Generally, a 75 to 85 horsepower tractor is required for efficient operation of a Super Seeder or heavy Baler. Farmers who farmed small to medium-sized farms were mostly using 50 to 65 HP tractors, making it impossible to adopt without their tractors being upgraded or they would need to hire contracted services.

Short Machinery Utilization Cycle: An individual farmer cannot afford to own a baler or seeder as it is idle for 10-11 months of the year.

Creating Value: From Agricultural Waste to Economic Commodity

Crop residue is considered illegal; the real progress comes from considering it as an industrial raw material. Rice straw is energy-rich and is naturally rich in fiber. Constructing a local chain of supply and use of this biomass can turn what is a liability into a source of income for rural communities.

1. Biomass Fuel for Industrial Boilers

There are large quantities of imported coal and pet coke used in brick kilns, paper mills, and textile processing units of Punjab. Mechanically densified biomass, such as straw pellets/briquettes, can be used in industrial boilers for co-firing. Once a minimum offtake agreement is made by industrial centres in the area of Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Kasur, etc., for straw-based fuel, commercial aggregators will actively purchase straw instead of burning it by the farmers.

2. Soil Health Restoration

The soils of Punjab have lost their organic matter, often remaining well below 1% soil organic carbon due to continuous cropping of rice and wheat. Happy Seeders helps to retain the residue, which keeps up to 20% less moisture from evaporating from the soil, regulates soil temperature, and inhibits weed growth. Emphasizing that straw can be used as a soil conditioner and can save farmers water and chemical fertilizers can change the farmers' attitude towards straw.

3. Livestock Feed and Fodder Processing

The digestibility of paddy straw is low for dairy cattle due to high silica and lignin levels; however, simple chemical and biological treatments (urea treatment and silage fermentation) can upgrade its nutritional value for winter dry season feed for the large number of dairy cattle in Punjab.

A Roadmap for Sustainable Clear Skies

To clear the skies in Punjab, it is necessary to integrate the existing legal framework with specially designed institutional and market support:

• Public money should be invested in developing village cooperatives and rural service providers to set up machinery banks with assured maintenance schedules and properly fixed rent rates instead of giving subsidies to individuals for individual purchase, which will remain underutilized.
• District administration should ensure that farmers and local aggregators can drop off baled straw at a designated storage location, near major industrial areas, with assured cash payment.
• Discuss payment-for-ecosystem-services (PES) solutions, where Union Councils that have verified no burning of residues are prioritized for local schools, water filtration stations and health houses, and receive funding for their development.

Conclusion

Smog is not a given reality of the Winter in Punjab. Viability of the farm and clean air can go hand-in-hand. This transition from a reactive approach of fines and FIRs to a proactive approach that includes accessible biomass mechanization and commercial use of biomass can ensure the security of the livelihoods of its farming communities and the health of millions of urban citizens in the province.