Stubble burning has gone down by 46% in Uttar Pradesh in the last seven years, thanks to the strict policies and incentive-based approach of the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath. Officials said here on Wednesday that the number of cases of grass burning in the state dropped from 8,784 in 2017 to 3,996 in 2023, which is a big drop.

The government’s plan was to teach farmers about the bad effects of burning stubble and encourage them to compost or use seed tools to plant wheat straight into the stubble.This season, the government is still trying to make farmers aware of the problem, and they are also giving farmers 7.5 bio-decomposers to use on the fields to break down the grass. One bottle of decomposer is enough to turn acre of farmland’s worth of straw into soil. A fine of Rs 15,000 has also been put in place by the government for burning grass.

It’s important to note that farmers hurt not only their farms but also future crops when they burn the straw. Burning gets rid of important nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash (NPK), as well as billions of bacteria and fungus that are good for the soil. Researchers have found that the extra stalks have 0.5% nitrogen, 0.6% phosphorus, and 1.5% potash in them. The earth will take these nutrients if these wastes are processed in the field instead of being burnt, officials said. This could cut the need for pesticides by up to 25% for the next crop.This means that growing costs go down and earnings go up. Keeping the soil’s organic matter helps protect the climate and slows down global warming.

A group did a study that showed that burning scab on an acre of land takes away 400 kg of useful carbon and 10–40 crore good bacteria and 1–2 lakh fungi per gram of soil. When crop leftovers cover the earth, they help keep it wet, which makes bacteria more active and helps them provide nutrients that the next crop needs. This also makes the land better at holding water, which saves water and lowers the cost of watering.To get rid of the grass properly, you need to till it deep into the ground and water it. Some people spray 5 kg of urea per acre of land before they water it to speed up the breakdown process. There are also specific cultures for breakdown.