At a time when the mandatory use of Super Straw Management System (Super SMS) to control paddy galls using the paddy method (which includes paddy galls in the soil) in Punjab is widely ignored, farmers and harvesters often give various reasons. from rising labor costs to declining efficiency, 34-year-old farmer from Dod village in Faridkot district Balwinder Singh stands out as a dedicated advocate of sustainable farming practices.
“We need to think beyond immediate profit,” Balwinder emphasized: “If we want to leave a healthy world for future generations, we must use sustainable practices now.”
Balwinder, who killed the burning bush 16 years ago, hopes that the farming community in Punjab will realize the long-term value of Super SMS and integrate it into their harvesting practices through continuous education and demonstrations. However, he emphasizes the need for the government to prioritize the provision of race control equipment for farmers like him who are committed to doing things that affect the environment and educating fellow farmers.
Like Balwinder, other combine harvester owners, such as Gurwinder Singh of Kotkapura and Buta Singh of Dod village, are also encouraging farmers to opt for machines with Super SMS. With his extended family of eight harvesting machines, which will cover 1,500 hectares, Balwinder is leading by example by equipping all his machines with Super SMS attachments.
Super-SMS is a mandatory attachment under the Crop Residue Management Scheme (CRM) in 2018. He cuts the paddy grass left after harvesting into small pieces and spreads it evenly in the field. Once the grass is distributed, farmers can water the field and plow to mix the grass with the soil. This prepares the field for sowing wheat using machines such as Happy Seeder, Smart Seeder, or Super Seeder. This process not only eliminates the need for burning livers but also enriches the soil with organic matter, increasing the yield of the next crop, especially wheat, according to experts.
“The cost of harvesting with a Super-SMS-equipped-combine is around Rs 1,800 per hectare, compared to Rs 1,400 to 1,500 per hectare with a regular harvester. Although the harvester equipped with the Super-SMS is slower, harvesting about 14-15 hectares per day compared to 20 hectares with a conventional harvester, the long-term benefits far outweigh the cost and extra time,” says Balwinder.
In Punjab, in-situ method is preferred over ex-situ, where the role of Super-SMS becomes more important. About 70-75 percent of the tribes are proposed to be managed in-situ in the province.
In 2018, when there were regular harvesters, the Punjab government had identified at least 7,500 harvesters who were eligible for such an upgrade. However, the goal was not fully achieved. Since then, many old combine harvesters have been replaced with new ones, which should have been equipped with Super-SMS. According to government records, of the nearly 15,000 combine harvesters working in Punjab, only about 6,142 Super SMS attachments were distributed between 2018 and 2023, and most of them are no longer in use. The demand for this important attachment has decreased significantly, as the distribution decreased from 3,828 units in 2018 to 170 units last year. Even farmers who have Super SMS installed compounds do not use them.
The Director of Agriculture Department in Punjab, Jaswant Singh, emphasized that all new harvesting plants should have Super-SMS, which also highlights the importance of this technology in preventing liver burn.
“The benefits to the soil and environment are undeniable,” said Faridkot Agriculture Officer Dr Amrik Singh: “Faridkot Deputy Commissioner Vineet Kumar has been busy educating farmers on the importance of using harvesters equipped with Super-SMS to combine the stalks back into the soil.”
So, why has the adoption of Super SMS been so alarmingly slow, despite its clear environmental and agricultural benefits?
Balwinder believes the key lies in better education for farmers. “We have a great need for officials and producers like us to educate farmers on the benefits of Super-SMS. I have been raising awareness in my area, teaching farmers about its beauty and showing its positive impact on soil health. I have been growing paddy and Basmati on 50 hectares—10 hectares mine and the rest on lease—and I have been using Super-SMS since 2018.”
His efforts bear fruit in the continuous increase in the number of farmers who choose to harvest combines with Super-SMS. This season, his eight combine harvesters – all using Super-SMS attachments – are expected to cover 1,500 to 1,600 hectares of paddy.
Balwinder says that his efforts are gradually bearing fruit. “Many areas where one or two farmers were using Super-SMS have now seen about 50 percent of farmers using it. Every year, many farmers come to us, asking to harvest their paddy through Super-SMS because they have seen the results in our fields.”
Balwinder strongly believes that the responsibility of disseminating information on a large scale rests on the shoulders of collective harvest owners. “Like me, all the owners of the harvest fields in Punjab have the capacity to educate the farmers. All paddy grass is harvested in combination, so we are the first point of contact when it comes to crop residue management,” he added.