This project focuses on environmental policy issues associated with rice residue burning and the role of the Happy Seeder in addressing these issues. The project involves:
Assessing the broader significance of agriculturally based pollution in Punjab and describing existing and proposed policies.
Evaluating the Happy Seeder (financial and economic evaluation) relative to other (technically feasible) rice residue use and management technologies ;
Evaluating a range of potential policy instruments to improve adoption of the Happy Seeder and similar technologies associated with better management of crop residues.
Reviewing the influence of policies and policy instruments in changing residue management practices in Australia.
Although various studies have addressed the issue of burning of crop stubbles none have brought to the forefront the adverse implications in terms of economic or monetary cost of this practice on human and animal health. Substantial progress has been made on gathering information on the mechanisms in place for recording and monitoring the pollution caused by crop stubble burning and past and current policies of the Punjab Government to address the pollution caused by this practice.
While there has been an unavoidable 6-month delay in the project associated with temporary security concerns in India in early 2009, satisfactory progress has also been made on identifying technically feasible on and off-farm alternatives to crop residue burning. This work is building on the findings of project LWR/2006/124, 'Fine-tuning the Happy Seeder Technology for Adoption in the Northwest India'.
A key activity for the project is a workshop with representatives of research institutions, cooperative organisations, NGOs, farmers and state and central policy makers that had to be deferred from March 2009 and will now take place in Chandigarh in October.
In combination, the findings of the policy and farm-level components of this study will provide insight into the feasibility and likely effectiveness of alternative policy measures that the Punjab Government could pursue to reduce air pollution from rice farms and potentially to facilitate the adoption of the Happy Seeder technology.
This project will deliver benefits to the Punjab Government in the form of information to policy makers on approaches to overcome impediments to the adoption of less-polluting agricultural technologies. From an Australian perspective, the project will enable analysis of the policy and technology context of historical changes in crop residue management practices in this country and provide information on the relative significance of government policy and other drivers of change.
The project is also providing the opportunity to enhance the policy skills of the Australian and Indian collaborators and to develop international networks that may well be relevant to future 'developing country issues', such as climate change, with potential long-run benefits in international cooperation and trade.