Double benefits from limiting straw burning right in the fields

Burning straw pollutes the environment and wastes raw materials.

In late May, traveling on the N5 road through the communes of Thuong Son, Quang Son, and Thai Son of Do Luong district, in addition to the vast golden scenery of rice fields entering the final days of the spring rice harvest, passersby also encountered the scene of smoke and dust from burning straw.

Smoke covers a large area due to burning straw in the fields of Quang Son commune, Do Luong district (photo taken at 2 p.m. on May 28). Photo: HT

Dozens of white smoke mixed with black dust from burning straw billowed into the air. When strong winds blew, the smoke covered a large area, covering the road where vehicles continuously passed.

Ms. Vu Thi Mai in Hien Son commune, Do Luong district said that this year her family planted 3 hectares of rice in the spring crop. The harvest was good and the fields were dry, so after renting a combine harvester to harvest, she dried the straw in the field. Because she does not raise cows and has no need to store dry straw, she burned all the straw.

When asked why she did not sell straw, she said that after the mass harvest in the field, there was a vehicle to buy straw, but at that time the straw in her field was not dry yet so they did not buy. When the straw in the field was dry, they could not call buyers because they bought straw with a rolling machine, and the machine had to be in large quantities to get it in. Moreover, in the fields of Hien Son commune, not many households wanted to sell straw, they mainly brought it home to feed the cattle, or burned it right in the field.

At the workshop organized by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Association in Nghe An in March 2023 on propaganda and mobilizing farmers to treat waste and combat climate change, it was clearly stated that in Vietnam, 1 hectare of rice will produce about 10 tons of straw. Burning straw in the field is actually only burning a part, and will emit a large amount of toxic gases, causing environmental pollution such as SO2, NO2, and toxic gases such as carbon monoxide (CO), dioxin. It even emits carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Turn straw into goods and raw materials

Meanwhile, in Thanh Chuong district, after the harvest, we observed very few households burning straw. For example, in Dai Dong commune, most of the golden ripe rice fields had been harvested. After harvesting, people dried the straw right in the field, and when the straw was dry, it was collected to bring home or sell to traders.

Mr. Le Van Chung, who is collecting straw with his wife and loading it onto a small cart to bring home, said that his family grows 5 sao of rice and raises buffalo and cows, so straw is a source of food for buffalo and cows during rainy and windy days, during the cold months until the next season.

“Because I raise 2 cows, I use the dried straw from about 3 sao of rice. The remaining amount from 2 sao is sold to traders who buy right at the field for nearly 700 thousand VND,” said Mr. Chung.

According to officials of Dai Dong Commune People's Committee, people here often have the habit of storing straw to feed livestock. Households that do not raise buffalo or cows store it to sell or sell it to traders who buy it in the fields.

People of Thanh Khai commune, Thanh Chuong district harvest straw. Photo: HT

“Currently, traders buy straw by rolling it into round bundles, each bundle of rolled straw is purchased for 45 thousand VND. On average, each sao of rice can yield about 8 - 12 rolls depending on the quality and quantity of rice plants” - Mr. Nguyen Xuan Anh, an officer of the Department of Agriculture of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee said.

In addition to using straw as feed for cattle and selling to traders, straw is also a source of raw materials to compost into high-quality fertilizer for plants. Composting straw in the field with microorganisms and composting organic fertilizer from household waste are also models being implemented by the Provincial Farmers' Association and tested in Thinh Son commune, Do Luong district.

Mr. Le Van Dung in Van Phuc hamlet, Thinh Son commune is one of the pioneers in composting straw in the field with biological products. Mr. Dung said that after harvesting, straw will be collected, sprinkled with biological products and composted into organic fertilizer right in a corner of the field.

People of Nghi Kieu commune (Nghi Loc) collect straw. Photo: Hoai Thu

At a temperature of about 40 degrees Celsius, after only 10 - 15 days, the straw will decompose into a particularly good organic fertilizer for plants. It saves money on fertilizer, protects the environment, and does not waste available resources.

According to statistics from the Department of Science and Technology of Nghe An, after the department had a scientific topic on applying biotechnology to production and was recognized by the Provincial People's Committee, and the People's Council of Nghe An province issued Resolution No. 18/2021/HDND dated February 19, 2021 on increasing support resources for policy implementation, the annual production of organic fertilizers increased from 30 - 50%.

The Provincial Farmers' Association and the working delegation visited the straw composting model in the field of Mr. Le Van Dung, Thinh Son commune, Do Luong district. Photo: PV

Accordingly, up to now, the science and technology sector has provided people with more than 132,650 kg of Compost Maker, 46,266 kg of Bigreen and 10,256 kg of Balasa N01. With these products, people can produce 66,325 tons of organic fertilizer from straw and other agricultural waste. At the same time, it helps to treat 5,783.25 hectares of land with pesticide residues and treat more than 198,177m²Pig and chicken barn floors. The policy of supporting the purchase of biological products and making biological bedding for pig and chicken farming has been bringing about good economic, social and environmental effects in Nghe An province.