Lok Sabha Question No. 2225 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-14
Subject: Agricultural Wastage
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Vishnu Dayal Ram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2225

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 14 TH  MARCH 2023

## AGRICULTURAL WASTAGE

## 2225.  SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether it is true that our country generates around 500 million tonnes of farm waste per year;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  of  the  farm  waste generated in the agricultural sector upto October, 2022, State-wise;
- (c)  the  details  of  an  action  plan  to  mitigate  the  tonnage  of  agricultural  wastage  in  the country;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research (ICAR) recommendations for various technologies to mitigate agricultural wastage; and
- (e)  if so, the details of those technologies adopted/ planning to adopt by the Government?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) & (b): Agricultural  waste  or  biomass  is  produced  as  a  result  of  normal  crop production  processes.  As  per  the  study  report  of  2021  of  the  Ministry  of  New  and Renewable  Energy  (MNRE),  the  State-wise  data  of  calculated  total  available  biomass potential,biomass utilization and surplus biomass is givenin Annexure-I.

(c) to (e): For  the  effective  management  of  paddy  straw  in  the  States  of  Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi to address air pollution, a scheme on 'Promotion of  Agricultural  Mechanization  for  In-Situ  Management  of  Crop  Residue  in  the  States  of Punjab,  Haryana,  Uttar  Pradesh  and  NCT  of  Delhi'  is  implemented  from  2018-19.  The scheme promotes the usage machines and equipmentsrecommended by Indian Council of Agricultural  Research  (ICAR)for  management  of  crop  residues  such  as  Super  Straw Management Systems, Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Smart Seeder, Zero Till Seed cum Fertilizer Drill, Mulcher, Shrub Master/Rotary Slasher, Paddy Straw Chopper, Hydraulically Reversible Mould Board Plough, Crop Reapers and Reaper Binders for in-situ management of crop residue and Balers &Straw Rakes for collection of straw for further ex-situ  utilization.  The  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  has  developed  Pusabiodecomposer, a microbial  consortium  of  fungal  species  for  rapid  decomposition  of  paddy straw in the field itself and in the year 2022, the decomposer has been used by the States in  an  around  7.45  lakh  hectare  area.  The  ICAR  have  also  come  out  with  number oftechnologies  in  the  form  of  value-added  products,  processes  or  processing  equipment that canbe successfully used to convert agricultural waste into wealth.

The Government has taken steps to encourage production of cellulosic ethanol and Compressed Biogas (CBG) from agricultural wastes and residues that would otherwise be burnt. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has approved National Policy on Biofuels2018 and also launched 'Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation' (SATAT) which promote setting up of CBG projects using biomass as raw material. Oil Marketing Companies are setting up 2G ethanol plants based on various feed stocks including paddy straw in the country. Ministry of Power has issued revised policy on biomass utilization for power generation through co-firing in coal based power plants which mandates the use of 5-7% biomass pellets made primarily of agro-residue along with coal in thermal power plants.Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has framed guidelines for providing one-time financial assistance for establishment of paddy straw based palletization and torrefaction plants.The MNRE is implementing Biomass Programme with the  broader  objectives  of  promoting  technologies  for  optimum  use  of  country's  biomass resources.

Statement referred in reply to Lok Sabha Un-Starred Question No. 2225 due for reply on 14 th  March 2023.

| States                               |   Total Biomass Generation (Million Tonnes) |   Biomass Utilization (Million Tonnes) |   Surplus biomass potential (Million Tonnes) |
|--------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| A & N Islands                        |                                        0.2  |                                   0.07 |                                         0.13 |
| Andhra Pradesh                       |                                       40.01 |                                  22.92 |                                        17.09 |
| Arunachal Pradesh                    |                                        0.75 |                                   0.58 |                                         0.17 |
| Assam                                |                                       12.57 |                                  10.03 |                                         2.54 |
| Bihar                                |                                       32.57 |                                  24.59 |                                         7.98 |
| Chhattisgarh                         |                                       12.99 |                                  10.34 |                                         2.65 |
| Goa                                  |                                        0.45 |                                   0.22 |                                         0.23 |
| Gujarat                              |                                       50.24 |                                  28.5  |                                        21.74 |
| Haryana                              |                                       36.24 |                                  25.33 |                                        10.91 |
| Himachal Pradesh                     |                                        2.74 |                                   2.17 |                                         0.57 |
| Jammu & Kashmir                      |                                        3.24 |                                   2.59 |                                         0.65 |
| Jharkhand                            |                                        5.31 |                                   4.11 |                                         1.2  |
| Karnataka                            |                                       34.09 |                                  20.05 |                                        14.05 |
| Kerala                               |                                        8.58 |                                   2.54 |                                         6.04 |
| Madhya Pradesh                       |                                       70.23 |                                  50.3  |                                        19.93 |
| Maharashtra                          |                                       52.54 |                                  31.05 |                                        21.49 |
| Manipur                              |                                        1.14 |                                   0.66 |                                         0.48 |
| Meghalaya                            |                                        1.37 |                                   0.81 |                                         0.56 |
| Mizoram                              |                                        0.13 |                                   0.11 |                                         0.02 |
| Nagaland                             |                                        1.37 |                                   0.94 |                                         0.44 |
| Odisha                               |                                       11.84 |                                   9.61 |                                         2.23 |
| Puducherry                           |                                        0.12 |                                   0.08 |                                         0.04 |
| Punjab                               |                                       53    |                                  30.75 |                                        22.25 |
| Rajasthan                            |                                       59.5  |                                  49.29 |                                        10.21 |
| Sikkim                               |                                        0.23 |                                   0.19 |                                         0.04 |
| Tamil Nadu                           |                                       52.14 |                                  39.92 |                                        12.22 |
| Telangana                            |                                       33.62 |                                  19.86 |                                        13.76 |
| Tripura                              |                                        1.41 |                                   1.16 |                                         0.25 |
| Uttar Pradesh                        |                                      124.69 |                                 103.09 |                                        21.6  |
| Uttarakhand                          |                                        3.55 |                                   2.83 |                                         0.72 |
| West Bengal                          |                                       47.51 |                                  31.23 |                                        16.28 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu |                                        0.07 |                                   0.06 |                                         0.01 |
| Total                                |                                      754.44 |                                 525.98 |                                       228.48 |

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