Assessment of Farmers’ Perception about Crop Residue Burning in Haryana

Abstract

The study was conducted in 2019-2020 to assess the perception of the farmers on cropresidue burning (CRB) in Haryana. A total of 180 farmers from three purposively selecteddistricts, namely Karnal, Kurukshetra, and Fatehabad from Haryana, were chosen to collectdata. Stratified random sampling was employed in the selection of blocks, villages, andrespondents. For measuring farmers’ perception, a scale was constructed using Likert’smethod of summated ratings. Farmers perceived CRB as an economical and viable optionand considered it an efficient practice. Most farmers did not perceive the happy seeder asfeasible since it needed a high horsepower tractor. Farmers’ perception was positively andsignificantly correlated with education, operational land holding, and annual income (P<0.05).Hence, there is a need to promote community-based approaches like custom hiring centre,bio-mass-based power plants, mushroom cultivation, etc., through extension and advisoryservices. It may lead to adopting alternative crop residue management options and mitigatingresidue burning in the long run.