Agricultural straw is mostly used as fodder for cattle or for making cardboard in areas where farmers harvest their crop by hand.
New Delhi: Government think-tank Niti Aayog will soon come out with a policy roadmap to promote alternative use of crop residue, which farmers continue to burn in the fields despite a ban in some states to curb air pollution.
The advisory body has floated an expression of interest inviting research institutions to conduct a study on mass production of manure/fertiliser from agricultural biomass. Based on this study, a policy roadmap will be laid out for alternative use of crop residue, officials at Niti Aayog told ET.
Niti Aayog will suggest potential economic uses of this agricultural biomass besides identifying an economically viable technology to convert crop waste into compost. Potential solutions will be identified before next winter, the officials said.
“The gravity of the situation demands that an appropriate policy should be evolved to promote alternative uses of crop residue to prevent on-farm burning; working on modalities for potential of economic utilisation of agricultural biomass waste in India targeting to convert manure to support farming sector,” one of the officials said.
The advisory body has floated an expression of interest inviting research institutions to conduct a study on mass production of manure/fertiliser from agricultural biomass. Based on this study, a policy roadmap will be laid out for alternative use of crop residue, officials at Niti Aayog told ET.
Niti Aayog will suggest potential economic uses of this agricultural biomass besides identifying an economically viable technology to convert crop waste into compost. Potential solutions will be identified before next winter, the officials said.
“The gravity of the situation demands that an appropriate policy should be evolved to promote alternative uses of crop residue to prevent on-farm burning; working on modalities for potential of economic utilisation of agricultural biomass waste in India targeting to convert manure to support farming sector,” one of the officials said.