PATIALA: The concentrated efforts being put in by the state government to help farmers build an elaborate infrastructure of the stubble management equipment by providing subsidies on machinery is yet to inspire the farmers to soften their stand on stubble burning Till October 16, the government has provided subsidy on 15,600 stubble management machinery, which is 63% of the total target set for the first year. According to the targets set by the state government, by taking the total area under paddy cultivations into consideration, it was decided to provide the farmers 1,242 super straw monument systems (SMS), 7,497 happy seeder, 3,383 RMB ploughs, 15 shrub cutters, 5,442 mulchers, 2,755 zero till drills, 1,281 rotary slashers and 3,357 rotavators.Against this target, the farmers have been able to buy 1,310 super SMS, 5,128 happy seeders, 1,695 RMB ploughs, 2,983 mulchers, 1,872 zero till drills, 317 rotary slashers and 2,294 rotavators.According to K S Pannu , the former chairman of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and the state's nodal officer to check stubble burning, the demand for SMS went up suddenly as the union government released a sum of Rs 270 crore on subsidies for the farmers to buy these equipment. Manufactures were unable to meet the demand.However, he said, the machines that were finding favours with the farmers, including the super SMS and the happy seeders, have already surpassed the set targets, while the farmers were not every keen on buying the other equipment.The listed equipment, he said, were approved by the agricultural experts after understanding the straw management requirements of the different areas in the state. While certain areas of Punjab need mulchers and rotavators, the others require only the super SMS and the happy seeders, he said.Meanwhile, farmers in various parts of the state still claim that they have not yet received enough equipment to manage the stubble of their entire village.According to Jasdeep Singh of Bibipur village in Patiala , while spending additional money on operating the straw management machinery was beyond the resources of the marginal and small farmers, even those who could afford to were not in a position to buy the equipment and were depended on the cooperative societies and private operators to clear their fields."Many rich farmers manage to hire these equipment well in advance by paying more money to the private operators and other farmers have to wait for their turn to use the equipment. This unnecessary delay causes frustration among the farmers and they eventually decide to set the stubble on fire and prepare their fields for the next sowing," he said.Angrej Singh, of Daun Kalan village, said the five-day delay in the sowing of the paddy, as ordered by the state government, reduced the window between harvesting the paddy and sowing the next crop. "If the entire state has to shift to straw management alternatives, then the government should ensure that more equipment is made available especially through the co-operative societies, as all farmers cannot buy these machines. Besides some financial incentives should also be given to the farmers to operate the machines in the fields," he said.Pannu said the union government has allocated a sum of Rs 665 crore under a two-year plan for subsidies on straw management machinery. During the first year a sum of Rs 270 crore has been sanctioned under which 80% subsidy is being given to the cooperative societies and other groups and at 50% subsidy to the individual farmers.

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