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Vidarbha’s Fields Choke on Crop Waste Turning into Lost Wealth

Vidarbha’s Fields Choke on Crop Waste Turning into Lost Wealth
Vidarbha’s Fields Choke on Crop Waste Turning into Lost Wealth

As the harvest season ends in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, a new challenge emerges in the farm fields. Piles of cotton stalks, dry pigeon pea stems, and other crop residues are often set ablaze by farmers.


Wisps of smoke curling over villages have become a familiar sight. Managing this agricultural waste has quietly turned into a serious issue here. The practice of burning leftover crop biomass is raising concerns not just for the environment but also for the economic opportunities being lost in the process.


Burning the Leftovers in the Fields

Vidarbha is a predominantly agrarian region, known especially for cotton, soybean, and tur (pigeon pea) cultivation. These crops leave behind large volumes of stalks and straw after harvest.


According to an estimate by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Vidarbha’s cotton fields alone generate about 5.5 lakh (550,000) tonnes of cotton stalk waste each year.

Most of this is not put to any productive use. Instead, the majority of farmers simply burn the residues on-site to clear their fields. Surveys have found that farmers in Vidarbha primarily burn cotton and tur crop residues, while some use soybean straw as cattle fodder and burn the rest.


For many small farmers, burning is a quick fix to dispose of the waste. They often lack the resources or awareness to handle the leftover biomass in other ways. Storing heaps of crop residue can attract pests and rodents, and there is even a risk of spontaneous fires in the dry season.


A recent field study noted that improper storage of crop waste led to infestations of insects and even snakes, causing many farmers to see burning as the safer option. In one instance, during a pest outbreak in 2018, a cotton farmer in Yavatmal district torched the remains of his infested crop to prevent the infestation from spreading. Such scenarios are common, illustrating why burning has become an accepted norm.


Farmers and experts cite several reasons for this widespread practice of crop residue burning in Vidarbha:


  • Lack of alternatives: There are limited facilities or services to collect and utilise agricultural waste, so farmers have few options apart from burning.

  • Pest and disease control: Leftover stalks can harbour pests (like the pink bollworm in cotton) or fungi. Burning the debris is seen as a way to destroy these threats before the next planting.

  • Low awareness of value: Many cultivators are not aware that crop residues can be turned into useful products. Because the waste is viewed as worthless on the farm, it is simply disposed of by fire.

  • Cost and effort: Clearing fields manually or mechanically can be labour-intensive and costly. Setting the stubble on fire is cheap and fast, helping farmers prepare the land quickly for the next crop or for off-season fallow.


This “burn it and forget it” approach, however, comes at a price. In treating agricultural residue as mere garbage, the region may be burning a potential resource. What’s left after harvest could become animal feed, compost, or fuel – but for now, much of it goes up in smoke.


Environmental and Health Fallout


Lighting fires to clear farm waste has immediate benefits for farmers, but it also creates long-term problems. When crop residues burn, they release smoke filled with pollutants and carbon emissions.


The environmental impact is visible and far-reaching. Across India, more than 2 billion tonnes of crop residues are burned annually, which contributes an estimated 18% of all global CO₂ and particulate emissions from biomass burning.

In northern India, agricultural fires during autumn have been known to cause heavy smog. On some days, they account for nearly half of the particulate pollution in Delhi’s air. While Vidarbha’s fires are smaller in scale than the mass stubble burnings of Punjab, they still add to regional air pollution and climate-change emissions.


Within Vidarbha, the effects of burning crop waste are evident on the ground. In villages of Yavatmal, Wardha, Akola and other districts, ash settles on fields after the fires. Soil fertility suffers when organic matter is lost to flames.


Agronomists point out that burning deprives the soil of nutrients and carbon that would have benefited the next crop if the biomass had decomposed naturally. “After harvesting, most of the leftover cotton stalks are burnt in the field, which not only pollutes the environment but also affects the biological properties of the soil,” an ICAR official explained at a recent stakeholder meeting in Nagpur.


The heat from fires can kill beneficial microorganisms in the topsoil, leaving the earth less productive over time.


The smoke itself poses health hazards, especially for farming communities. Rural families in Vidarbha often live near their fields and inhale the smoke when residues are burned. This smoke contains fine particulate matter and toxic gases that can irritate the eyes and respiratory tracts. Health workers note that women and the elderly in villages are particularly vulnerable to smoke-related breathing problems.


In fact, a report by the Cotton Association of India highlighted that rampant burning of cotton stalks in Yavatmal has led to high air pollution levels, contributing to respiratory illnesses among local communities. Such impacts often go unmeasured in remote areas, but they add to the public health burden.


There is also a cumulative climate effect. Open-field burning of crop waste releases not only carbon dioxide but also black carbon (soot) and other greenhouse gases.

These emissions contribute to global warming. Maharashtra’s government has identified the reduction of crop residue burning as a climate resilience measure. In a new climate-oriented agriculture programme, the state plans to promote alternatives like biomass fuels precisely to curb these emissions.


The push is a recognition that what happens in Vidarbha’s fields has consequences beyond the region, affecting air quality, public health, and climate change.


Missed Economic Opportunities in Waste


Ironically, what is treated as agricultural “waste” in Vidarbha can actually be a valuable resource. The dry stalks and husks left after harvest are forms of biomass that can be converted into fuel, fertiliser, or raw material for industries.


By burning these, farmers are effectively destroying potential income. This fact has not gone unnoticed by researchers, entrepreneurs and even some farmers’ groups in the region.


In theory, crop residues could be an economic boon. Cotton stalks and pigeon pea stems can be shredded and compressed into briquettes or pellets, often called “bio-coal” or white coal.

These biomass briquettes can be used as a renewable fuel in place of coal or wood in boilers and power plants. Experts estimate that Vidarbha could generate significant revenue if farm waste is commercially processed. “Be it farm produce or farm waste, it is only after being processed that the farmers can cash in on their wares,” says Sunil Mankikar, president of a local agro-industry forum.


He suggests that transforming crop leftovers into fuel could create an annual turnover of up to ₹20,000 crore (approximately $2.7 billion) for the region. While such projections are optimistic, they underscore the scale of opportunity that is literally being burnt away.


Some initiatives have started taking shape to tap into this potential. In early 2024, a stakeholder meeting organised by ICAR’s Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT) in Nagpur distributed equipment like shredders (chippers) to help villages collect and sell cotton stalks. Industries are willing to pay farmers for this raw material: at the event, companies offered about ₹500 per tonne of cotton stalk delivered, and assured on-the-spot payment. The idea is to incentivise farmers to treat residues as a cash crop after the crop.


Similarly, the Maharashtra government’s climate resilience project plans to support biomass briquetting units and biochar production in rural areas. The goal is to reduce stubble burning by creating a market for the surplus residue, turning a pollution source into an extra source of income for farmers.


International organisations have also highlighted Vidarbha’s agricultural waste problem and its solutions.


The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) noted that cotton farmers across India burn huge amounts of stalks, which could instead be sold as clean energy fuel. “These cotton by-products can boost farmers’ incomes and help reverse the impact that burning agricultural waste has on the environment and public health,” observed Pamela Coke-Hamilton, an UNCTAD trade official, after visiting a biomass briquette enterprise in Nagpur.


The UN agency facilitated a tour for African agriculturists to Vidarbha to demonstrate how entrepreneurs here are building a supply chain for cotton waste-based fuels. Such recognition has put Vidarbha on the map as a potential model for agricultural waste-to-wealth conversion.


On the grassroots level, innovative projects are beginning to sprout. One notable example is the URJA project in the Yavatmal district, led by a federation of cotton farmer-producer companies.

Launched in 2024, this project aims to collect cotton stalks that would otherwise be burned and process them into bioenergy pellets and biochar (a type of charcoal used to enrich soil). The URJA initiative is as much about social impact as environmental innovation. It actively employs local tribal women in gathering and processing the biomass, providing them with a new livelihood opportunity.


Early reports indicate that the model is profitable and scalable, creating what its founder calls a “win-win” for the community and the climate. While still in its pilot stages, the URJA project demonstrates the kind of creative thinking that could alleviate Vidarbha’s waste challenge if expanded.


Not every farmer in Vidarbha can immediately turn into a biomass entrepreneur, of course. There are practical hurdles, from the cost of machinery to the logistics of transporting bulky crop residues.


Yet, the growing interest in biomass energy and sustainable farming is slowly reaching this once-neglected region. The state’s push for blending biomass pellets into coal-fired power plants has already increased demand for agricultural waste as fuel.


Several sugar mills and thermal plants in Maharashtra have begun inviting tenders for the supply of crop residue briquettes. All these developments hint at a future where farm waste may no longer be viewed as waste at all.


The struggle with agricultural waste in Vidarbha is a microcosm of a larger challenge facing farming communities across India.


For decades, farmers here have done what seemed practical: burn the leftovers and move on.


Now, as evidence grows of the environmental damage and lost economic potential, there is a shift in perspective. Government programs, researchers, and even farmers themselves are exploring ways to convert “waste into wealth.”


The transformation requires changes in mindset, availability of equipment, and accessible markets for biomass products. However, each small step is progress.


Vidarbha’s fields, long associated with hardship, could become the testing ground for sustainable practices that benefit both the rural poor and the environment. The challenge of agricultural waste here remains daunting, but it has also sparked innovation and hope that a solution is within reach.


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